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Your Privacy
The opportunities you deserve, the privacy you expect
New Home Loans. Com, a trusted leader for over 2 years in
the loan industry, we offer a wide range of financial
products and services through our family of companies. This
section explains how we protect your information in a safe,
secure and responsible manner.
Your protection is our priority
We strive to safeguard your data. We do this by:
Setting
policies and procedures for carefully handling your
information.
Limiting
employee access to sensitive information.
Protecting
against unauthorized access to customer data using data
encryption, authentication, and virus detection technology.
Requiring
service providers who do business with New Home Loans to
comply with privacy laws; auditing company security
practices; monitoring our websites through recognized online
privacy and security organizations.
Use of cookies and Web beacons
We design many features of our website so new visitors may
anonymously learn about our products and services, view
today’s rates and use our educational tools without
revealing their identity. For new visitors, we use "cookies"
and Web beacons to collect limited data (such as the date,
time and areas of our website visited and the website the
new visitor came from). When you select one of our products
or services, review your accounts online or respond to
marketing materials sent to you directly, we will try to
identify your browser and may combine information from
"cookies," Web beacons and other information collected
online with any other data we maintain about you. By
improving the marketing and content of our website and
making your online experience more convenient, we are able
to better serve our customers' financial needs.
Cookies are required to operate the Your Accounts feature
You can have your Web browser disable "cookies." If you turn
off "cookies," it is not possible for us to offer you the
Your Accounts service. Your Accounts provides online access
to consolidated information about all of your accounts with
the New Home Loans family of companies.
You have choices
You may limit how we share your personal information. This
is called a right to "opt out." You have three options to
consider.
Continue receiving valuable and convenient product and
service offers
You can enjoy the benefits of valuable product and service
offerings without taking any action.
Opt out of information sharing outside the our family of
companies
This choice would stop us from sharing non-public personal
information with our carefully screened business partners.
This may limit our ability to inform you of valuable and
convenient products and services from partner companies.
Opt out of information
This choice would stop us from sharing non-public personal
information within our group of companies. This may limit
our ability to offer conveniences such as a tailored savings
quote on homeowners insurance, a custom financial investment
plan, and other financial service offers.
We honor our customers’ privacy choices across the family of
companies. For loans to multiple borrowers, we will apply an
opt out by any borrower to all borrowers on the loan. If you
opt out, we will continue to share non-public personal
information with our service providers (such as the vendor
who prepares our monthly statements), with third parties as
required or permitted by law (such as credit reporting
agencies or regulators), and share transaction and
experience information (such as your loan balance or payment
history) within our group of companies.
In today’s dynamic market, opting out may mean missing
timely information about products and services that help you
accomplish your homeownership and other financial goals.
It's something to think about carefully. We don’t want you
to miss out on any opportunities.
Our websites may contain links to other companies not in our
group, for your convenience and information. If you access
those links, you will leave our website. We encourage you to
review the privacy policy of any company before submitting
your personal information.
How to confirm accuracy of your information
We commit to maintain accurate and up-to-date information on
all of our customers. We provide access to account
information in many ways - over the phone, in online and
paper statements, and other communications. If you believe
any of your information is incorrect, please notify us
immediately using the customer service number provided on
your account statement. We will respond timely to your
request to correct inaccurate account or transaction
information. However, in order to protect your information,
we may ask to verify your identity and for other details to
respond to your request.
Notification of changes
The policies and practices in this section replace all
previous notices or statements about your privacy rights at
New Home Loans. If we make any significant changes, we will
notify you and only apply those new changes to future use of
your information. If we make such changes, we will also
revise the policy effective date, so that you can keep track
of when those changes occur.
Policy Effective Date: March 13, 2005.
About Internet Security
How Does Browser Security Work?
Recent versions of most internet browsers support the
encrypted transmission of on-line documents and the data you
enter on a web page. This means that instead of sending
readable text, both your browser and the website's secure
server encode all text using a security key. That way,
personal data sent to your browser or data you send back
would be extremely difficult to decode in the unlikely event
it was intercepted by an unauthorized party. The key used
for encoding is a random number that is unique to your
session at the secure website.
There are two grades of internet security:
International-grade encryption uses a 40-bit random number
negotiated between your browser and the web-server. This
means that only one out of about 1,000,000,000,000 possible
decoding keys can be used to decipher your data.
Domestic-grade encryption uses a 128-bit key, so that the
number of possible keys is vastly larger. Our sites uses the
highest grade of encryption supported by your browser and
your internet connection.
How Do I Know If Security Is Operating?
Your internet session is encrypted if your security-enabled
browser is connected to a website using the Secure Hypertext
Transport Protocol. URL strings beginning with "HTTPS://"
instead of the usual "HTTP://" indicate that the secure
protocol is in effect. Your browser may also tell you if
security is operating. For example, Netscape Navigator may
display the icon in the lower left corner of your screen in
secure mode. If 128-bit security is in effect, it shows the
icon. Microsoft Internet Explorer shows a icon in either
case. Note that security may be operating without any
visible indication if the web page you are viewing employs
frames (see below).
If secure transmission is not in effect or only part of a
frame-based page is secure, Netscape shows the "broken key"
icon, and Explorer does not show the "lock" icon.
Most browsers can be set to give you a pop-up announcement
when you enter or leave a secure web page. In Netscape,
these settings are on the Security Preferences "General"
tab. In IE, the setting is on the "Advanced" tab when you
select "Options" on the View menu.
Secure Mode and Frame-Based Web Pages
Security may be operating without displaying any security
icons (or Netscape may show the "broken key" icon) if only
part of a frame-based page is employing security. You can
verify the security of a page within a frame by opening it
in a new browser window. Both IE and Netscape allow you to
open a link in a new window by right-clicking on the link
and selecting that option from the pop-up context menu. When
a secure page is open in its own window, instead of being
viewed within a frame, you can then see the security icons
provided by your browser as well as the "https://" secure
protocol prefix in the URL string.
Cookies
When you visit a website, a small file called a "cookie" may
be saved to your computer’s hard drive during your visit.
When you revisit the site, the website’s server may open the
cookie file and access the stored information. You can
usually set your browser to limit or let you know about
cookies that a website places on your computer.
Web Beacons
A Web beacon is a graphic image (such as a pixel tag or
clear GIF) that is placed on a web page or in an e-mail
message to monitor user activity (such as whether the web
page or e-mail message is read or clicked). They are often
invisible because they are very small in size. They are also
used on many web pages for alignment purposes. We sometimes
use Web beacons to provide an independent accounting of how
many people visit our websites or to gather statistics about
browser usage at our websites. Some of our web pages and
HTML-formatted e-mail newsletters use Web beacons in
conjunction with cookies. It is difficult for you to limit
the use of Web beacons because there is no easy way to
distinguish their use from alignment and other purposes.
They may be loaded from a different web server than the rest
of the page.
Third Party Advertising
We sometimes use third party advertising companies to serve
our internet ad banners on our site and other sites on which
we advertise. If you click on one of those ads, you will be
directed to one of our sites offering that particular
product or service. If you view a web page where our ads
appear, the advertising company may place a cookie on your
computer or use a Web beacon to access a cookie they
previously placed on your computer. These companies do not
collect information that can identify you personally, but
may use information about your visits to our sites and other
sites to measure the effectiveness of ads. We do not give
any personally identifiable information to these companies.
Unless you are first notified, these advertising companies
do not link any online actions or cookie to any information
that can be used to personally identify you (such as your
name, address or e-mail address). The companies that
distribute our ads are prohibited by contract from using
information other than for the agreed upon purpose – to help
us market our products and services and to measure response
rates.
Third party advertisers are subject to their own privacy
policies. Currently, we use Avenue A, Inc. as one of our
third party advertisers. If you would like more information
about the privacy practices of Avenue A, including
information on how to opt-out of their cookies, please click
here to visit the Network Advertising Initiative website. To
prevent other advertising companies from placing cookies on
your computer, you may adjust the privacy settings for your
browser to block or filter cookies, or visit each website
individually and opt-out.
Similar Devices
For example, we include URLs in e-mail marketing materials
sent directly to you (such as special offers) so that we can
identify that it is you responding to the campaign and
provide details on the offer available to you.
Identity theft
What is Identity Theft?
Identity theft is when someone takes and uses your personal
information (such as your name, social security or credit
card number) without your permission to commit fraud or
other crimes. These criminals take the identities of others
to open new credit cards; obtain phone or utility accounts,
loans, or employment; open bank accounts; and/or pass
fraudulent checks. According to the FBI, identity theft is
the fastest growing crime in America.
How Does Identity Theft Occur?
Criminals gain access to personal information in many ways,
but the most common method is to take it from the victim
themselves - you. They steal mail (such as account
statements, new checks and offers of credit) left in a
mailbox, discarded in the trash or stored in an easy to get
to location in your home or office. They take credit card
and personal identification from your purse or wallet.
Without knowing it, you may give the information directly to
the criminal when you enter data at an unsecured or unknown
website, or in response to a fraudulent request for account
information through an unverified e-mail ("phishing").
Imposters also ask for information from you in unsolicited
phone calls, tricking you into thinking it is someone you
know, such as your bank ("pre-texting").
What Happens to the Victim?
Identity thieves can damage the credit reputations and lives
of victims. Studies have shown that victims spend an average
of $808 and 205 hours resolving the identity theft. Time and
money is spent clearing credit reports, reporting the theft
to lenders and merchants, and filing complaints with law
enforcement and governmental agencies. One of the menacing
problems of identity theft is that it can happen more than
once. Once the initial incident is resolved, the thief may
begin using the victim’s identity again after waiting 6
months to a year and the cycle begins all over again.
How Can I Prevent Becoming a Victim?
Identity theft requires someone to gain access to your
personal information. You can take steps to decrease the
risk of someone stealing your information.
Destroy papers you throw out. Shred or completely destroy
any documents that contain personal information before
discarding them in the trash. This includes information
about you, your family, your home, or your accounts such as
credit card solicitations, pre-approved credit offers,
convenience checks contained in your statements, bills,
cancelled checks, loan offerings, ATM or credit card
receipts, insurance or tax information. Just as important
are receipts from ATM’s or self-service devices such as
gasoline pumps. Don’t just leave them behind or throw them
in the trash. Criminals only need a few pieces of
information about you to get credit in your name and access
your existing accounts.
Be careful who you give your information to over the
telephone. Do not give out personal information such as your
social security number, credit card or bank account numbers,
or loan numbers over the phone to anyone who has called you
without first confirming who you are speaking to, why they
need the information and that they are who they claim to be.
Guard your PINs. Never give out your Personal Identification
Number (PIN). Memorize your PINs and never write them on
your cards or carry them in your wallet.
Report lost or stolen credit cards, checks or identification
immediately.
Store your personal information securely. Keep it where it
is not easily available in the event of a burglary or other
unauthorized access.
Be cautious online. Make sure it is safe when you are asked
to provide information at websites or with online merchants
you do not have an existing relationship with. Always
confirm that you are in a secure session before entering
personal information online (see How Do I Know if Security
is Operating?).
Check your credit reports. Review your credit report
regularly to identify any inquiries or accounts that you are
not aware of and did not apply for.
Protect your mailbox. If your residential mailbox is not
secure, don’t put outgoing mail in the box and promptly pick
up incoming mail or obtain a secure postal mailbox.
Safeguard your checks. Never print your personal information
such as a Social Security Number or driver’s license number
on your checks.
What Should I Do if I Become a Victim of Identity Theft?
Contact the three major credit bureaus Equifax
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348
1-800-525-6285
www.equifax.com Experian
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com TransUnion
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-680-7289
www.transunion.com
Ask them to send you a copy of your credit report and
instruct them to place a fraud alert on your record. Once
you receive the report, review it carefully. Contact any
creditors listed that you did not apply for credit with and
inform them that you have been a victim of identity theft.
Instruct them to close the account, send you copies of the
application and any transactions, and to promptly clear your
credit record.
Contact your local police or sheriff’s department and file
an identity theft complaint.
File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at
www.consumer.gov/idtheft or via their hotline at
1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
Identity Theft Resources
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 1-877-438-4338 Privacy Rights
Clearinghouse 1-619-298-3396
Social Security Administration Fraud Hotline 1-800-269-0271
Identity Theft Resource Center 1-858-693-7935
Department of Justice Identity Theft Statistics
US Postal Inspection Service 1-800-372-8347 Identity Theft
Laws (by state)
What are we Doing to Assist in the Battle Against
Identity Theft?
Protecting the confidentiality and security of our
customers’ personal information is a priority for us and our
family of companies. You can find more information in our
Privacy and Security Policy. We understand the implications
identity theft can have and take very specific steps to
reduce the chance that identity thieves can damage the
credit reputations of our customers. As a result, we have
put multiple safety measures in place to combat identity
theft.
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