3 ways to reduce phishing risks and protect your FareHarbor account

Your booking software is the hub of your business, so it’s vital to take proactive steps to avoid potential scams and other harmful activities. Fortunately, a few simple best practices can help you strengthen your FareHarbor account security and reduce the risk of phishing, fraud, and unauthorized access.

Using a strong password, enabling two-step verification (2SV), and keeping your login email private are easy steps that protect your sensitive data and help keep your business running smoothly.

Why this matters

Cybersecurity threats are becoming more sophisticated, and no business is too small to be a target. A compromised account could put your revenue, customer trust, and operations at risk. Understanding the risks and how to prevent them is critical to protecting your business.

Here are a few potential phishing scenarios you could experience:

• The scammer changes your bank details: They secretly update your bank account number to their own. Then, when customers make payments, the money goes straight to the scammer — until you or a customer notices something is wrong. 
• The scammer emails your customers fake payment links: Using your account, they pretend to be you and send fake payment links via email to your customers. This can lead to customers getting scammed.
• The scammer sends fake links by text messages: They also send these scammy payment links via SMS. This can get your number blocked by SMS providers, meaning your customers may stop receiving important texts from you, like booking confirmations or reminders.

How to strengthen your FareHarbor account security

Protecting your account requires more than just a single action — it involves following a few essential best practices. Below are some key steps you can take to safeguard your business and sensitive information.

1. Use a strong, unique password

Creating a complex password is one of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent unauthorized access. A strong password should:

• Be at least 12 characters long
• Include a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols
• Avoid obvious choices like your name, business name, or “password123”

Pro tip: Use a password manager to generate and store strong, unique passwords for every login. This prevents attackers from gaining access to multiple systems through a single reused password.

1. Turn on two-step verification (2SV)

Two-step verification adds a second layer of protection to your account. Even if someone gets your password, they still won’t be able to log in without a one-time code sent to your device or authentication app.

FareHarbor supports 2SV and strongly encourages all users to enable it. It’s one of the most powerful defenses against account takeovers—and it only takes a minute to set up.

1. Hide personal email addresses from public sites

If the email address you use to log into FareHarbor (or other sensitive accounts) is publicly visible, others can easily target you for phishing scams, unauthorized access attempts, and other security threats. Keeping this information private adds an extra layer of protection to your business.

What you should do

• Use a general contact email: Instead of a personal email (e.g., yourname@gmail.com), use a general business email like info@yourcompany.com for customer inquiries and to list it on your website and booking forms.
• Keep login emails private: The email address you use to log into FareHarbor should not be publicly visible anywhere.

What FareHarbor is doing to help

At FareHarbor, your security is our priority. We have strong security mechanisms in place and are constantly taking additional steps to help safeguard your account and ensure that your business remains secure. Here’s how we’re helping:

• Product security: Our Product and Engineering teams constantly check to ensure FareHarbor systems don’t contribute to making your personal email address public. This means you can trust that FareHarbor’s platform is designed with security in mind, minimizing any unintended exposure of your sensitive information.

• Encouraging stronger account protection: We’re actively encouraging all users to enable two-step verification (2SV) and use strong, unique passwords. These simple actions are among the most effective ways to prevent unauthorized access, and we’re sharing clear instructions and reminders to help you take these steps with confidence.

• Ongoing knowledge sharing: Security is an ongoing conversation. We’re incorporating these best practices into broader client communications so you’re always informed about how to protect your business. Whether through newsletters, training sessions, or direct outreach, we’ll continue to share security tips that keep your account safe.

By taking these steps, we’re reinforcing our commitment to your security so you can focus on what you do best—providing incredible experiences for your customers. 

Need additional help?

If you’re unsure how to update your contact details or have questions about securing your FareHarbor account, reach out to our Support Team. Taking this small step now can prevent bigger security issues down the road!