Security Best Practices

We take online security very seriously. To protect your account, we recommend the following:

A strong password is a long phrase that contains upper case, lower case, numeric and special characters. A long password with a mix of characters is generally stronger than short passwords with more special characters. A password strength comes from how long it is and not necessarily from overall complexity. For example - Summer19TigerJacket is stronger and easier to remember than #ardPw132.

It is risky to use the same password on multiple online sites, because if your password for one site is hacked, it could be used to access any other account where you are utilizing the same password.

Combine two or more unrelated words to form a phrase.

Create a unique password for each website account you create. One way to do that is to modify a baseline password by inserting a short reference to the applicable website's name, such as Summer_WF19TigerJacket.

Ensure you have long passwords with unrelated names.

Be creative with your passwords - do not use passwords like Housebay123 or SecretPassword123. Even though they do seem to match the password requirements, they are not strong passwords.

If your browser, operating system, or apps are out-of-date, the software might not be safe from hackers. Keep your software updated to help protect your account.

Hackers and fraudsters can use emails, text messages, phone calls, and web pages to attempt to obtain personal information about you.

• Treat your password like your toothbrush - never share it. Never give out your password to anyone.
• Be wary of sharing sensitive information. Please keep in mind that HOUSEBAY will never send you unsolicited email that asks you to provide sensitive information like your password, credit card information, social security number, tax ID, or bank account number.
• Do not provide account or credit card information to a caller: Our customer service representatives will not request your credit card information unless you call to place an order.
• Do not click links or open documents in emails: Do not open links or documents that you are not expecting, or look to be from untrustworthy websites or senders. Attackers try to trick you to click on malicious links or attachments in emails in order to route you to malicious web pages.
• Check content carefully: Keep an eye out for grammatical errors, typos, misspelled email address or links (i.e. Houzebay, Houseby, etc.).

If you believe you have been a victim of fraud, please reset your account password immediately.