BELL PRIVACY POLICY

Consumers’ Rights to Privacy and Confidentiality

*Date of Most Recent Update: June 08, 2022

 

Consumer financial privacy and confidentiality is a top priority for the Baltimore Economic Leadership League (BELL). This Online Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”) describes and applies to the information collected when you visit online interfaces (e.g., website or mobile application) owned or controlled by BELL (collectively the “Site”). If you are a member who has opened a BELL account or obtained BELL financial products or services, we will also use information collected in accordance with our Privacy Notice. Please refer to BELL's Privacy Notice here.

BELL will never request sensitive account information through unsolicited phone calls or e-mail messages. If you receive an unsolicited phone call or e-mail message claiming to be from BELL or any other group requesting that you provide your account numbers, Social Security number, personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords, or other confidential information, please do not divulge any information or click on any links. Report any suspected fraudulent activity to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

By visiting and/or using this site, you agree to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy and consent to our use of cookies and similar technologies as described below:

Information Collected by BELL

Types of information. You may interact with us in a variety of ways online, including through a mobile device. We may offer sites or applications that permit browsing and do not require registration. We may also offer the ability to enroll, register or access your accounts online. Information that we may collect about you through online interaction includes information that you input, such as your name, address, email address, telephone, fax or mobile numbers, account numbers, or other contact information (“Personal Information”); data resulting from your activity, such as transaction information; and location information. We may also gather additional information, such as the type of device and browser you are using, the IP address of your device, information about your device’s operating system, and additional information associated with your device. We may also gather information collected through cookies, tags, and other technologies, as described further below.

What are “cookies” and how do we use them? Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer or device to distinguish you from other visitors to the Site. We and/or our third-party advertising providers may place cookies or similar files on your hard drive to collect or track information about your activities while using the Site, including time spent on the Site, pages visited, and your relationship with us. Mobile applications may also use cookies.

We use cookies and information gathered through their use to make your experience with BELL and certain other sites more personalized based on the products, services, or other interaction you have with us and other sites. Information gathered through use of cookies may be used to make offers to you via online ads, email, U.S. mail, or telephone, subject to the privacy preferences you have on file with BELL.

Do you have to accept cookies? You can refuse to accept these cookies and most devices and browsers offer their own privacy settings for cookies. You can opt out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting Google’s Ads Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of a third-party vendor’s use of cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page. However, if you do not accept these cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of the Site and some online products and services.

Additional technologies. We may also use additional technologies such as pixel tags, web beacons, and clear GIFs, and may permit our third party service providers to use these technologies. We use these technologies for purposes such as measuring the effectiveness of our advertisements or other communications, determining viewing and response rates, and determining which offers to present to you on our own or on third party sites.

Using information. In addition to the uses described above, we use information for purposes as allowed by law including: servicing; communicating with you; improving our Site, products, or services; legal compliance; risk control; information security; anti-fraud purposes; marketing or personalizing the presentation of our products and services to you; tracking website usage, such as number of hits, pages visited, and the length of user sessions in order to evaluate the usefulness of our sites; and using read-receipt notifications in our email communications.

Sharing. We may share information with service providers with whom we work, such as data processors and companies that help us market products and services to you. When permitted or required by law, we may share information with additional third parties for purposes including response to legal process. As applicable, please refer to our Privacy Notice for more information on how we may share information with affiliates and third parties.

Third Party Websites

The Site may contain links to third party websites or applications and third party websites or applications may link to the Site. These third party websites and applications are not part of our Site. BELL is not responsible for the content or availability of linked sites. Please be advised that BELL does not represent either the third party or you if you enter into a transaction. Neither BELL nor its affiliates or subsidiaries make any representations or warranties regarding these third party websites or applications. We are not responsible for any losses or damages in connection with the information, security, privacy practices, availability, content or accuracy of materials of such third party websites or applications. These third party websites and applications may have privacy policies different from us and may provide less privacy and/or security than the Site. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of all third party websites and applications before you share any personally identifiable information with them.

Social Media

You may find information about us or our products and services through our social media pages, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Any information you share is visible to all participants on these social media sites and you should never post any sensitive personal information (such as account number or social security number) on these social media sites. These social media sites may have different privacy policies from ours, so please be sure to carefully review the policy of each social media site. For more information, please see our Social Media Guidelines.

Online Security

To protect personally identifiable information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply will all applicable federal and state laws. These measures may include device safeguards and secured files and buildings as well as oversight of our third party service providers to ensure information remains confidential and secure.

E-mail and Electronic Communications

Communications, such as e-mail, text messaging, social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube) messaging, and other electronic forms are often insecure. Please do not submit sensitive personal information (such as account number or social security number) via electronic communication.

Children’s Privacy

The Site is not directed to children under the age of thirteen, and we request that all visitors to this site under the age of thirteen to not provide any personally identifiable information through or on the Site. We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of thirteen without parental consent.  Visit the Federal Trade Commission website for more information about the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Jurisdictional Issues

The Site is controlled and operated by us from the United States and are not intended to subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country, or territory other than those of the United States. Information about you may be stored or processed in any country in which we engage service providers, and, by using the Site, you consent to the transfer of information to countries outside of your country of residence, including the United States, which may have data protection rules that are different from those of your country. In certain circumstances, courts, law enforcement agencies, regulatory agencies, or security authorities in those other countries may be entitled to access your personal information.

Policy Updates and Effective Date

If we make updates to this Policy, we will update the Policy with the changes and revise the “date of most recent update” posted at the top of this Policy. Any updates to the Policy become effective when we post the updates on the Site. Your use of the Site following the update to the Policy means that you accept the updated Policy.

We are required by law to provide this privacy policy to you and to explain how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal financial information. If you have any questions, please contact a Loan Counselor at grow@whcusa.com.