BANK OF GRANITE
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT PRIVACY
This notice contains important information about privacy of personal information that we collect about our customers and how that information may be used. In this privacy notice “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Bank of Granite. This notice is meant to inform you of how we safeguard your nonpublic personal financial information.
We believe that protecting each customer’s privacy is the cornerstone of a strong business relationship. The privacy of your information is protected not only by state and federal laws, but also more importantly, by our commitment to you. We recognize and respect your expectation of the privacy of your information and will use strict security standards to safeguard it. We collect only information about you that is needed to serve you and administer your business and carefully limit and control the sharing of your information. We strive to ensure that any information we collect about you is accurate, complete and secure. We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to those employees who need to know in order to provide your products or services. We hold our employees to the highest standard of conduct in ensuring the confidentiality of customer information. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your nonpublic personal information.
We collect nonpublic personal information from your applications such as your name, address, social security number, assets and income; information (such as account balance and payment history) related to your transactions with us, our affiliate, or with others; information that we receive in response to our requests to nonaffiliated third parties about our customers, particularly in the process of evaluating loan applications; or information that we receive from consumer credit reporting agencies, commonly known as credit bureaus.
We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone, except as permitted by law.
We may disclose the following kinds of nonpublic personal information about you: information we receive from you on applications such as your name, address, social security number, assets and income; information about your transactions with us, our affiliate, or others such as your account balance, payment history and parties to transactions; or information we receive from a consumer reporting agency, such as your creditworthiness or credit history.
We are permitted by law to disclose nonpublic personal information about our customers or former customers to the following types of companies: financial services providers such as mortgage bankers, securities broker-dealers and insurance agents; nonfinancial companies who we request to verify the accuracy of information that a customer has provided to us; other financial institutions who inquire whether our relationship with a customer is satisfactory; or nonaffiliated third parties as permitted by law.
We may disclose the following information to companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or to other financial institutions with which we have joint-marketing agreements: information we receive from your applications such as your name, address, social security number, assets and income; information (such as account balance and payment history) related to your transactions with us, our affiliate or with others; information that we receive in response to our requests to nonaffiliated third parties about our customers, particularly in the process of evaluating loan applications; or information that we receive from consumer credit reporting agencies, commonly known as credit bureaus.
Your Choice to Limit Marketing
Bank of Granite is providing this notice. Federal law gives you the right to limit some, but not all marketing, from our affiliates. Federal law also requires us to give you this notice to tell you about your choice to limit marketing from our affiliates.
You may limit our affiliates from marketing their products or services to you based on your personal information that we collect and share with them. This information includes your income, account history with us, and information obtained from a credit-reporting agency.
You may exercise your right to opt out of information sharing for marketing purposes at any time. Your choice to limit marketing offers will apply for at least 5 years from when you tell us your choice. Your choice will expire 5 years after the closing of your account(s).
To limit marketing offers, contact your local office, call the number provided below, or notify us by mail.
Telephone: 828-496-2000
Bank of Granite
Account Services
PO Box 128
Granite Falls, NC 28630-0128
Account Services
PO Box 128
Granite Falls, NC 28630-0128
We provide our customers a copy of our privacy policy annually.
If you have previously notified us of your preference, it is not necessary to notify us again.
If you have previously notified us of your preference, it is not necessary to notify us again.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT INTERNET FRAUD
Law enforcement officials use the term “phishing” to describe a type of identity theft by which scammers use fake web sites and emails to “fish” for your personal information. Bank of Granite is concerned about this type of fraud and wants you to know how to protect yourself. If you fall victim to identity thieves, you are likely to spend considerable time and money to correct your credit files or otherwise defend yourself. Please be on guard for phishing scams and other types of Internet fraud.
The following excerpts from a consumer alert issued by the Federal Trade Commission include information that will help you to protect your personal and financial information:
How does phishing happen?
You receive an e-mail supposedly from a company that you do business with or from your bank or perhaps a government agency such as IRS. The e-mail describes a reason that you must verify or re-submit confidential personal information such as your Social Security number, bank account number, credit card numbers, passwords or PINS using a return e-mail. The e-mail instructs you to use a form on a linked web site or a pop-up message with the name and perhaps even a very convincing company logo. The e-mail may inform you that account information has been lost or stolen or that your account may be restricted unless you provide additional information. If you respond, the thieves hiding behind what appears to be a legitimate web site or e-mail can obtain sufficient information to access your bank account, make online purchases or even sell your personal information to other identity thieves. If you receive an e-mail claiming to be from Bank of Granite requesting confidential information, delete it immediately and notify us. We will never request confidential information using email.
How do I protect my personal information?
Never provide your personal or financial information in response to an unsolicited e-mail or Internet advertisement. The same caution applies to unsolicited telephone calls, faxes or letters. “ If you did not initiate the communication, do not give this information, regardless of how legitimate or genuine these people or entities may appear to be,” says William Henley, Jr., an FDIC electronic banking specialist.
Take appropriate precautions. Don’t provide personal information on a web site using a link from an e-mail or Internet advertisement no matter how legitimate if appears to be. Donald Saxinger, another FDIC electronic banking specialist warns, “Clicking on a link in an email or an Internet ad is very risky. You’re always safer typing in the URL (web address) from scratch, assuming you type it in correctly.” Be careful when typing in the URL and don’t guess about a web address. Copycat sites deliberately use URLs that are very similar to, but not exactly the same as, those for well-known companies or government agencies. When contacting your bank, use the web address and phone number listed on your monthly statements or other literature you received directly from your bank.
Quickly report suspicious e-mails
Report any questionable e-mail messages or web site to the real bank, company or government agency using a phone number or e-mail address obtained directly from the bank, company or government agency. If the web page looks different or unusual, contact the institution directly to confirm that you haven’t landed on a copycat web site intended to fish for your personal information. Customer inquiries about changes to a web site are one of the best ways that banks and other organizations find out about unauthorized sites containing the look of a legitimate web site.
What should I do if I am a victim?
Immediately contact Bank of Granite by calling 828-496-2000. It may be necessary to close your existing account and open a new one. Also, contact police and keep a copy of any police report that may be filed. Call the three major credit bureaus* to request that a fraud alert be placed on your credit file. You may also file a complaint by going to the Federal Trade Commission Web site at www.ftc.gov or by calling 877-382-4357.
* Three major credit bureaus
- Equifax 800-525-6285
- Experian 888-397-3742
- TransUnion 800-680-7289