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Keeping Your Account Safe: Security Best Practices

‍Reminder: Never share your Branch PIN or personal information over the phone. Branch will never call you to ask you for this information.

At Branch, keeping your personal information secure is our top priority. Scammers and other bad actors will always exist in the world, but by arming ourselves with the right security measures—and educating our users on best practices to avoid fraud—we can both ensure scammers don’t come between you and your account.

Branch has strong security features in place to protect you against fraud. Some of these features include:

Card lock/unlock to immediately freeze spending on physical or virtual cards
Enabling Face ID in addition to PIN passcodes
Controlling ATM limits to prevent unauthorized withdrawals

Even with these features in place, you can play a critical role in keeping your information secure. In order to avoid being the victim of potential scam or phishing attempts, here are some best practices to keep in mind.

Keep your account details private like you would any password

Don’t share any of your Branch account details with other people. This includes:

Your login text code
Your 6-digit passcode
Your 4-digit debit card pin

Avoid writing them down where someone might see them, or making your codes something easy to guess like “1,2,3,4.”

Don’t give out personal information over the phone

If you receive a phone call asking for your Branch PIN or passcode, you should not comply. We will not call you to ask for account information over the phone. If you receive a call from someone purporting to be from Branch, call back at our verified number to confirm. (Branch Support: 866-547-2413)

Remember:💡 Branch Support will not call or text to ask for account information—such as your PIN—or ask to access your account remotely.

Verify who the message is coming from

If it’s via phone, you can compare the number with the number you have for Branch Support. Ask if you can call the person back with the number you have for Branch Support. It should raise a red flag if the person is calling from a different number and won’t let you call them back via the verified support number.

If the communication is via email, be sure to carefully read the email address. Sometimes scammers will be able to make a “sent from” email address that’s so similar to the name of the company they’re impersonating that it’s just a few letters off. When you receive authentic email communications from Branch, they will only be sent from the following email addresses:

And some specific business cases may involve the name of your company + branchapp.com.

Double check for time-sensitive language like the word “urgent”

If the person you’re speaking with uses words that convey time sensitivity, like the word “urgent” or “ASAP” in their request, this is another red flag. A legitimate financial institution would not pressure you to meet their “demands” for your personal information so hastily.

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Stay safe during the holidays with the 4 D's

The holidays are a time of spreading good cheer, but unfortunately they're also a prime time for scammers to try and steal your information. Here are some best practices to pay special attention to during the holidays. (Think of them as the four D's: Double check holiday contests, distrust social media, don't use other devices, and if you have doubts, call Branch!)

Double check any holiday contests. If they're offering large amounts of money or hard to find/expensive electronic, beware. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Also check the turnaround time for entering a contest. Remember that a legitimate source does not demand your personal information within 24 hours or some other super-quick timeframe.
Distrust social media requests asking for account-specific info. Branch and other legitimate sources would never contact you via social media asking for account information. Similarly, as we mentioned above, we will not call to ask for your account information over the phone, either.
Don't use other people's devices to log in to your account. Visiting friends for the holidays? Avoid using their computer or phone to log in to your personal accounts. It's less about them stealing your information as it is another device auto-saving your info which increases your risk of theft or fraud altogether.
Doubts? Contact Branch! If your account has potentially been hacked, lock your card and immediately contact us.

With the tips above, you can feel empowered knowing that you’re doing your part to keep your information private. Remember: You’re your own best advocate when it comes to keeping your account information secure. And if you ever have questions or concerns, report suspicious activity to risk@branchapp.com.