FAQ's

• What are my choices about information sharing?
• How long does it take to honor my direct marketing choices?
• What is the five-year opt out language?
• Does this five-year expiration apply also to opt outs from third party or affiliate sharing?
• How will I know when my Bank of America Do Not Call or Do Not Mail choice expires?
• How do I get on your "do not mail," "do not phone" or "do not email" list?
• Can a business opt out of direct marketing?
• What will Bank of America try to sell me over the phone?

• The Online Privacy Notice has been updated; have your privacy practices changed?
• Do you use cookies?
• Can I choose not to accept cookies?
• Do you use Flash objects?
• Can I delete Flash objects?
• What is Relationship Based Advertising?
• What is Online Behavioral Advertising?
• Why does Bank of America use Relationship Based and Online Behavioral Advertising?
• Can I opt-out of Relationship Based and Online Behavioral Advertising on your Sites?
• Can I opt out of Online Behavioral Advertising on other sites?
• Will opting out of Online Behavioral Advertising stop all Bank of America ads?

• Does the Consumer Privacy Notice apply to all transactions and other activities I perform while I'm banking online at Bank of America?
• Do you ever make changes to your Online Privacy Notice?

• What is Rapport from Trusteer?
• Why do I need Rapport?
• How does Rapport work?
• How much does Rapport cost?
• Who do I contact for support?

• How do I know the information you have on file about me is safe and secure?
• How can I trust that the people who work at Bank of America will keep information about me private?
• I know Bank of America uses other companies to serve some of its customers and shares information with certain third parties. How can I be assured that my information is kept safe and secure in such arrangements?
• What is email fraud?
• How do I recognize email fraud?
• How do I report a suspicious email?
• What can I do to protect my personal information?

General Privacy Questions

Annual notification is required under the U.S. federal Privacy Law, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. We will provide you our privacy notice each year, as long as you maintain a relationship with us.

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Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, we are permitted to share with third parties, without regard to the customer choices, in connection with situations where we are required to disclose information, such as responding to subpoenas or tax reporting, and for typical business activities, such as sharing to identify or prevent fraud, to resolve customer disputes and enforce our rights, in connection with sale of all or part of a business or with consent.

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Our privacy notices apply to consumer personal information, which means personally identifiable information about a consumer or a consumer's current or former relationship with Bank of America that is not publicly available. We collect and use various types of personal information for our everyday business purposes, such as to process transactions, service and maintain accounts, comply with laws and regulations and better respond to your needs.

Personal information does not include aggregated or de-identified data that the Bank may create or compile from various sources, including accounts and transactions. This information, which does not identify individual customers, is used by the Bank for its business purposes, which may include offering products or services, research, marketing or analyzing market trends, and other purposes consistent with applicable laws.

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We collect various types of information to service your accounts and better respond to your needs. Information we collect includes:

• Information that identifies you, such as your name, address and telephone number.
• Information you provide on your application, such as assets, income and other debt
• Information about your transactions and account experience with us, such as your account balance, payment history and credit card usage
• Information from credit reports regarding your creditworthiness or credit history
• Information from other outside sources regarding employment, credit or other relationship with you (for example, your employment history, loan or credit card balances or your property insurance coverage)
• Other general information from outside sources that is not assembled or used for the purpose of determining eligibility for a product or services (such as information from public records)

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We occasionally receive medical or health information from a customer if, for example, a customer applies for insurance from us. We do not share medical or health information, including information received from third parties, among our companies, except to maintain or collect on accounts, process transactions, service a customer request, perform insurance functions or as required by law.

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Keeping your account information accurate and up to date is very important. You have access to your account information through various means, such as account statements, telephone banking, online banking and in response to specific requests. If your account information is incomplete, inaccurate or not current, please call or write to us at the telephone number or address listed on your account statement, bank records or other documentation. We will promptly update or correct any erroneous information. Please contact us if you have questions or feel that we have not handled information about you properly.

 

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Bank of America shares information among the Bank of America family of companies (affiliates). Sharing information among the Bank of America family of companies can save you time and money. For example, customers who have certain accounts may qualify for a credit card with lower interest rate and no annual fee.

We may share credit card and Sponsored Account information with affinity partners and selected third parties in order to offer a greater range of financial products that may be tied to organizations of interest to you, such as an alumni organization, sports team or charity.

Affinity partners and selected third parties, as well as all companies that act on our behalf, are contractually obligated to keep the unique information we provide to them confidential and to use this information only as permitted by us.

We also share information to detect and prevent fraud, such as unauthorized transactions, and to manage our business and risk.

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We share information with companies that may work for us to support the products and services we offer. These companies may include check-printing vendors or companies that help us mail account statements.

In addition, when you open an account or apply for a credit card, loan or line of credit, we may use various credit bureaus as part of the process for approving your application. We may also use outside companies to help us with fraud investigations.

Because these companies act on our behalf, they are obligated to keep information we provide them secured and confidential and use the information only to provide the services we've asked them to perform.

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Bank of America may share some information about credit card accounts and Sponsored non-credit card Accounts with selected third parties. Bank of America offers tailored credit card and Sponsored Account products through affinity partners, such as colleges, sport teams and professional groups. Sharing of certain credit card and Sponsored Account information enables the bank to offer these products and services.

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Sponsored Accounts are any non-credit card accounts or services provided by the bank (such as CDs or checking accounts) that are co-branded with other organizations, such as colleges or sporting teams. Customers will know if an account is sponsored by the co-branding on account materials, such as statements. If you are unable to determine if your account is a Sponsored Account or have any questions about Sponsored Accounts or our Privacy Notice, please call us at 1.888.341.5000.

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ou may request we not share information about your accounts with third parties who may want to offer you their products and services. Set your choices

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This gives you the flexibility to select certain accounts for sharing even if you request we not share information for other accounts. For example, a customer with multiple accounts that are eligible for sharing may want to share more information with an alumni association or professional membership organization than with a sports team.

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Through our extended relationships with affinity groups, credit card holders and Sponsored Account customers may receive discounts on products, access to limited edition merchandise or unique access to events sponsored by our affinity partners, e.g. sports teams, colleges and professional groups.

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No, Bank of America has a separate affiliate marketing notice, given to customers at account opening.

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You have choices when it comes to sharing certain information with affiliates and third parties and limiting direct marketing contact. Bank of America offers several easy ways you can inform us of your privacy choices:

• Notify us at www.bankofamerica.com/privacy and enter the information on a secure Web site;
• Call us toll free at 1.888.341.5000; or
• Talk to a customer representative at a banking center or to your client relationship manager.

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We will work to note your request promptly, but your request may take up to twelve weeks to be fully effective for mail campaigns. Because promotions from our affiliates or Affinity Partners are developed weeks and months in advance, you may sometimes receive solicitations if the promotion has already been implemented.

If you elect not to receive direct marketing offers by postal mail, telephone and/or e-mail, please note that we may continue to contact you as necessary to service your account, which may include being contacted by your assigned account representative (for example, Financial Advisor or relationship manager), if applicable, and for other nonmarketing purposes. Bank of America may also continue to provide marketing information in your regular account mailings and statements, including online and ATM communications.

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When you opt out of direct marketing by mail or telephone, your opt out(s) will last for five years, subject to applicable law. After that, you can choose to renew your opt out(s) for another five-year period.

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No, this applies only to the direct marketing opt out for mail or phone contacts.

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If you have informed us prior to January 1, 2007 of your choice not to receive marketing solicitations by phone or mail, we will provide notification prior to the expiration of a choice along with information on how to renew a choice. If you informed us after January 1, 2007, your telephone and postal mail opt-out choices will last for five years, subject to applicable law.

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To tell us your choices:

• Notify us at www.bankofamerica.com/privacy and entering the information on a secure Web site;
• Call us toll free at 1.888.341.5000; or
• Talk to a customer representative at a banking center or to your client relationship manager.

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No, direct marketing choices, with the exception of e-mail, apply to individuals, not businesses.

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To minimize the amount of telephone solicitation our customers receive, we do not offer nonfinancial products and services through telephone solicitations.

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No, we have not changed our privacy practices. Bank of America strives to be an industry leader in transparency in terms of online data collection and use and we review our notice at least annually to ensure it continues to align with our practices and provides clear and current information on how we use information collected from or about you. The updated notice reflects the results of this periodic review.

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Yes, cookies allow us to remember you, to enhance your onsite experience, and to offer you relevant products and services on our Sites. We use cookies to facilitate site navigation, to monitor responses to our advertisements, and to continually improve our website design and functionality for our account holders and visitors.

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Yes. But, if you choose not to accept cookies from our Sites, then you may not be able to access and use all or part of the Site or benefit from the information and services offered. You also may not receive advertising or other offers from us that may be relevant to your individual interests and needs.

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Yes, Flash objects are used as part of our solutions for online authentication to help us recognize you and your device when you come back to our Site. We also use Flash objects to determine your browser type and version of Adobe^® Flash^® in order for you to view our demos and tutorials with moving content.

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Yes. But, if you choose to delete Flash objects from our Sites, then you may not be able to access and use all or part of the Site or benefit from the information and services offered.

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Customized content and advertisements provided to you on our Sites based on your relationship with us.

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Analysis of consumers' online activities over time including the searches the consumer has conducted, the pages visited, and the content viewed, in order to deliver advertising customized to meet the individual consumer's interests.

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We strive to provide you with information about products and services that are of particular interest to you. Relationship Based and Online Behavioral Advertising helps us to customize your online experience.

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Yes, if you prefer not to receive customized content and advertisements on our Sites, you may opt-out. Please note that if you opt out of either relationship based or online behavioral advertising on our Sites, you may still receive generic online advertising from Bank of America. When you access account servicing areas (i.e. after sign-in), such as Online Banking and MyMerrill, you may see customized content and advertising based on your account relationships. Opting out means that the content and advertising you receive on our non-servicing sites (i.e. before sign-in) will be generic and will not be based on your relationship, preferences or behavior. Remember that your browser must be set to accept cookies in order for these opt-outs to work.

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On third-party websites where we advertise, Bank of America has adopted the use of the Advertising Options Icon on our behavioral ads (excluding ads appearing on platforms that do not accept the icon). Anyone receiving a behavioral ad may click on the displayed icon to receive more information and can opt-out at that time or by visiting the third-party website's privacy policy for an opt-out mechanism, if any.

You may also opt-out of receiving behavioral ads from many websites through the Network Advertising Initiative's Opt-Out Tool or other tools provided by the publishing platform.

Please note that if you opt-out, you may still receive generic online advertising from Bank of America. Opting out from a specific third-party website means that the ads you receive will not be based on your preferences or behavior. Remember that your browser must be set to accept cookies in order for these opt-outs to work.

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No, opting out means the content and advertising you receive from us on our non-servicing sites (i.e. before sign-in) and on third party websites will be generic and will not be based on your relationship, preferences or behavior.

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Yes. The Consumer Privacy Notice protects you when you are online at any Bank of America website. Your online activities are also covered by the Online Privacy Notice, which explains how we may collect information from you online when you visit a Bank of America site. The Online Privacy Notice also explains how we manage the privacy and security of your personal and account information online. To learn more, we encourage you to read our Online Privacy Notice.

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We may occasionally make changes or update our Online Privacy Notice. When we do make changes or updates, we will also update the effective date of the policy. The effective date is indicated at the top of the policy.

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Rapport is a security application that provides online protection against malware attacks. Online Banking customers can use Rapport to protect web browsers while using any website containing financial or personal information. Rapport helps keep your computer safe from keyloggers, session hijacking, screen capturing and more.

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The anti-virus or security software you are probably running is important but may not be enough. Bank of America recommends you use additional protection for safe Online Banking.

? Conventional solutions, such as anti-virus and anti-spyware software, personal firewalls and anti-phishing toolbars, all rely on known techniques. These solutions are becoming less effective at stopping new, sophisticated criminal activity. Rapport helps detect what conventional desktop security solutions can miss. It works with your antivirus software for an extra layer of protection.

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Rapport is entirely transparent. It doesn't require any change to the way you work online or sign in to our site. It does not require any configuration or maintenance. You simply download and install it, then browse with additional security. You'll know it's working by the Rapport icon displayed in your browser's address bar.

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Rapport is free from Bank of America as part of our commitment to security. We cover the costs associated with the development, maintenance and support of Rapport.

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For help using Rapport, you can contact Trusteer Support. Trusteer operates a 24-hour customer center to help with any questions or issues you may have through live chat and email.

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We value the trust of our customers, and we understand that handling their financial information with care is one of our most important responsibilities. Only those who need to know a customer's financial information – because they provide the accounts and services the customer might need – are authorized to have access to it.

Bank of America operates under a detailed, rigorous information security policy and program designed to protect the security and confidentiality of our customer's information. Bank of America Board of Directors has approved this policy and program, and we keep the board informed on the overall status of our information security program. The information security program is subject also to ongoing regulatory oversight and examination.

Additionally, we have a strict code of ethics for all associates that requires confidential treatment of customer information. All associates with access to customer information must complete information protection training annually. Bank of America also maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect against unauthorized access to customer information.

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Keeping customer's financial information secure is one of our most important responsibilities. We value your trust and handle information about you with care. Our associates are bound by a code of ethics requiring confidential treatment of customer information and are subject to disciplinary action if they fail to follow this code. All associates receive awareness training annually regarding their responsibilities for protecting the privacy and confidentiality of customer information entrusted to them.

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Bank of America is committed to providing customers with the best financial products and services available. In order to do that, we sometimes use other companies to assist in providing high-quality, efficient and cost-effective service, as well as using affinity partners to offer a greater range of financial products that may be tied to organizations of interest to you. We take great care in choosing our suppliers and Affinity Partners.

Bank of America operates under detailed, rigorous information security policies and programs that go well beyond the requirements of regulatory guidance. A vital element of our information security program requires oversight of third-party suppliers, which applies to international as well as domestic companies. Contracts with our suppliers who have access to our customer's information require them to substantiate that they meet the strict requirements of our information security program and only use the information for restricted purposes.

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There are many types of email fraud. A recent and increasingly common type of email fraud involves the use of phony emails that ask you to provide sensitive personal, financial or account information. You may be asked to supply the information in a return email, in a separate form attached to the email or by visiting a phony website using a link contained in the email message. The people attempting to get this information may use it to access your accounts directly, including withdrawing money, or to open new accounts in your name using your information. Learn more about email and online fraud.

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Recognizing email fraud may not be easy. The criminals who use email and online fraud to get your personal, financial or account information are adopting increasingly sophisticated techniques for duping consumers. You should approach unsolicited email containing urgent appeals for security or personal information with great caution. You should always confirm the validity of email messages that appear to come from trusted sources. Bank of America will never ask you provide your Social Security Number, ATM or Debit Card PIN or any other sensitive information in response to an email. If you receive an email from Bank of America and you're not sure if it's real, don't click on any links in the email. Type www.bankofamerica.com into your browsers address bar, and look for your SiteKey when you sign in to Online Banking. See an example of a fraudulent email. Learn more about email and online fraud.

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To report a suspicious Bank of America email, you can forward it to abuse@bankofamerica.com New mail message. Get more information about reporting a suspicious email.

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Some tips for protecting your personal information:

• Be cautious when providing personal data such as your Social Security Number and bank account or credit card account information over the telephone, in person or on the Internet. Do not give out this information unless you are sure of the person with whom you are dealing.
• Carry only necessary identification with you. Do not carry your – or other family members' – Social Security card(s). Do not carry passports or birth certificates unless needed that day.
• Monitor bills and bank statements frequently and immediately report any suspected fraudulent transactions to the holder of your account.
• Receive and store as many of your account statements electronically as you can.
• Store cancelled checks, new checks and account statements in a safe place.
• Question suspicious emails. We will never send you an email asking for your online ID or pass code.
• Install anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on your home computer. Keep these programs updated.
• Don't write your personal identification number (PIN), Social Security Number, driver's license number or credit card account number on checks, or on your ATM, credit card or debit card. Stand directly in front of the ATM when entering your PIN.
• Keep mail secure. Do not mail bills or sensitive information from your home or unsecured mailboxes. Retrieve and review your mail promptly.
• Tear up or shred pre-approved credit offers, receipts (including ATM receipts) and other information that could link your name to your account numbers.
• Check your credit report periodically and be sure all information is up to date and accurate. Have any fraudulent transaction deleted. For a free annual copy of your credit bureau report contact www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1.877.322.8228.

More tips on how to protect yourself

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