6 Tips for Keeping Your Personal Card Information Safe

Fraudsters have become much more skillful in retrieving the debit or credit card information they need to commit fraud by posing as employees at your financial institution. Oftentimes, fraudsters will send text messages to your mobile device that appear as though they are being sent from your bank, warning of suspicious transactions. They are even known to steal card information, call into call centers posing as a cardholder, and request changes to card information in their favor.

Most often, information is stolen through data breaches as well as through malware programs deployed on personal computers and other sources. Stolen personally identifiable information (PII) combined with stolen card information gives scammers enough information to create new accounts and profiles with the cardholder's information. 

Avoid Compromising Your Personal Information

Here are six tips to keep your personal information safe from scammers:

1. Never click on a link in a text message that is supposedly from Heartland Bank. A text alert from the bank, warning of suspicious activity, will never include a link to be clicked on. A valid text message will provide information about the suspicious activity, and ask the cardholder to reply to the message with answers such as 'yes', 'no', 'help', or 'stop'. 
2. Text alerts from Heartland Bank will always be from a 5-digit number and phone calls will be from a 10-digit phone number. If you ever get a call from “eNFACT, 1-844-682-4502” or a text message from “37268”, know that they are doing their job to prevent potential fraudulent use of your debit card.
3. A phone call from the bank's automated dialer will only include a request for cardholder's zip code, the last four digits of your social security number, and no other personal information. Only then will you be transferred to an associate who will ask questions verifying your identity before going through each transaction. 
4. If you are uncertain about the questions you're being asked, a text message you've received or the call itself, hang up and call your local Heartland Bank branch directly at the phone number listed on the back of your card.
5. Fraudsters will often ask cardholders to verify fake transactions. When the cardholder says they did not authorize certain transactions, the fraudster then says the card is blocked, that a new card is being issued and that they'll need the card's PIN number to put on the new card. Do not provide your PIN number, card number, expiration date, CVC code or full social security number under any circumstance. 
6. Check your bank account and statements regularly - either on paper or online using our online banking tools - for suspicious transactions. If anything looks incorrect, call your local branch directly for assistance. 

Want to know more about how Heartland Bank protects you from suspicious debit card activity? Check out our blog post about our eNFACT Debit Card Fraud Protection.