Barbara Lemieux, 2016

Privacy & Security

Your security. Our priority.

Your information is safe with us. At New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp, the basis of each customer relationship is trust.

You have chosen to do business with us, and we are committed to honoring that relationship with great care. We believe that your privacy should not be compromised. The confidentiality and protection of customer information is one of our fundamental responsibilities. At the same time, we want to offer you the array of products and services you need to accomplish your goals.

We take your privacy and security seriously at New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp and have implemented vigorous internal security measures to protect your personal and account information while banking at our branches, over the phone and via the web. With keystroke loggers, virus attacks and phishing scams becoming increasingly prevalent, your vigilance and cooperation is also imperative in ensuring your security online.

In the expandable menus below, you will find information about security controls as well as tips for making your online experience as safe as possible.

How do we protect your privacy?

Preserving your trust is our top priority. Therefore, we want you to understand what information we collect, how we use and how we protect it. To learn more, review our privacy policy.

The Merrimack will never call, email or text you to request your usernames, passwords, account numbers or other secure information. If you receive an unsolicited message or call claiming to be from The Merrimack or, if for any reason you are not sure if a message you received was sent from The Merrimack, please do not click on any links or attachments and contact us to verify that the communication is authentic. Do not provide your login credentials in response to any request online, by phone or in person. Providing this information may allow a criminal to access your account(s).

We monitor online banking activity closely and may contact you if we notice login attempts, bill payments or external transfers that are out of the ordinary for you. Risk Management Specialists from The Merrimack or from our online banking service providers will only contact you to verify the activity was authorized by you and will not ask for confidential information, such as your online banking username and password. If you are ever uncertain if a communication you received was made by or on behalf of The Merrimack, please hang up and call us back directly. Please also be sure to keep your contact information up to date, so that we can reach you promptly.

How do we protect your security when you are online?

New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp works hard to ensure the safety and soundness of our customers’ information. We use the latest technological security methods to provide our customers a secure environment.

We strive to provide you with the most secure online services. Here are some of the ways we protect you:

  • The system is set to require strong passwords. We recommend choosing a password that is at least 8 digits in length, contains both uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Please change your password from time to time to protect your privacy.
  • We have a layered security system including related features such as one-time passcode authentication.
  • The system will allow access only from browsers with 128-bit Secure Sockets (SSL) technology.
  • Our network is protected by a multi-layer intrusion prevention system and firewall to prevent unauthorized access.
  • For your convenience, our website may contain links to websites of third parties. The placement of the link does not mean we are endorsing or guaranteeing the other site. You are no longer covered by New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp’s privacy policy once you use a link to go to another site.
  • If you contact us via email, please keep in mind that your email address, and any other information your email header shows about you, such as your name or organization, will be revealed to us. Your email information will be retained and used for the purpose of responding to your questions or comments. Your email address will not be sold, nor will it be shared with others outside the organization unless we are required to do so by law. Confidential information should not be sent to us via regular email, nor will we include confidential information in our email response to you.

Our commitment to keeping your personal information private extends to all visitors to our website. We do not require you to disclose any personally identifying information. We may use “cookies” to estimate the number of visitors to our various web pages, to determine whether a user is a first-time visitor, or for administrative purposes. You have the option in your browser to determine if and how a cookie will be accepted, but you must have cookies enabled in order to use online account services.

A cookie is a small piece of information which a web server can store in your web browser. This is useful for having your browser remember some specific information which the web server can later retrieve. Online Banking and Bill Pay use cookies that allow you to conduct online banking without having to log in for every Online Banking screen.

Cookies cannot be used to obtain data from your hard drive, get your email address or steal sensitive or personal information about you. The only way that any private information could be part of your cookie file would be if you personally gave that information to a web server. Also, each cookie can only be read by the server that set it, so strange servers cannot view or steal the information in a cookie that you have previously accepted. Note also that computer viruses are not passed through the setting or use of cookies. For added security, Online Banking and Bill Pay require that your browser supports 128-bit encryption, which is the highest method of Internet security available in a browser.

How do we protect Children’s Privacy?

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act protects children under the age of 13 from the collection of personal information through our website without obtaining verifiable consent from parents. We do not knowingly collect or use personal information from children under 13 nor do we allow them to open on-line accounts.

How can you protect yourself?

  • Monitor your statement and transactions. Let us know immediately if you notice an unexpected or erroneous charge on your statement, or while reviewing your transactions online. In addition, if your regular statement doesn’t arrive when you expect it to, contact us as soon as possible.
  • Catch an incident early by ordering a free credit report from any of the three major credit bureaus. If an identity thief is opening credit accounts in your name, these accounts are likely to show up on your report. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877.322.8228 for more information.
  • Do not discard documents that contain financial or other personal information in your trash or recycling bin, which thieves can rummage through to gain access to your information. Destroy the documents using a shredder.
  • Empty your wallet of all extra credit cards. Don’t carry your birth certificate, social security card, passport, or other identifiers unless it’s absolutely necessary.

How can you protect yourself online?

To help ensure your safety when you bank online, we suggest the following guidelines:

  • Limit the amount of personal information you give online.
  • Ensure that all financial and personal information that could be used to access your accounts has been properly cleared from old computers, fax machines, mobile devices, or cell phones prior to disposal/recycling.
  • Keep your contact information with the organization up to date. This ensures that we can notify you quickly if we notice anything unexpected with your account.
  • Since email is not a secure form of communication we do not recommend using email to contact NHTrust. Our website has a secure contact us form that allows you to contact the organization in a secure manner. When using these forms, your information is encrypted.
  • Be wary of phone calls, emails, websites, and pop-up windows that ask for personal information, such as your birth date, social security number, passwords, or account numbers. NHTrust will never ask for this information via any of these methods. Our website address is www.nhtrust.com. If an email, advertisement or pop-up directs you to a different address, don’t use it, and contact us as soon as possible.
  • Before you enter any personal or financial information on a website, always make sure the computer or mobile access device you are using is equipped with a reputable, and updated anti-virus program and firewall. Any type of external media device can contain viruses or other harmful programs that could compromise your privacy or damage your computer. A firewall can make you virtually “invisible” online and will help to block out communications from unauthorized sources.
  • Before you agree to connect someone else’s USB drive to your computer, make sure that person can be trusted.
  • Ensure that you have installed the latest security updates for your operating system and any applications you use.
  • Keep your web browser updated with the latest security settings and patches.
  • Select unique passwords that do not include personal information, such as your name, date of birth, family member’s names, etc. for your security. We recommend choosing a password that is at least 8 digits in length, contains both uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Please change your password from time to time to protect your privacy.
  • Remember to never share your log in credentials with anyone and to only use the ID assigned to you. Do not store this information on or near your computer or mobile access device.
  • Do not set your internet browser to remember your passwords or automatically log you in to websites.
  • Always log off completely and close your browser when you are finished with a secure session.
  • Do not open unsolicited emails and email attachments or install software from unknown sources.
  • If your computer or mobile access device is lost or stolen or if you believe your log in credentials have been compromised, please contact us as soon as possible so we can assist you with protecting your accounts.
  • Do business only with financial institutions and online merchants that you know and trust.
  • If you provide financial information or place an order online, be sure the site is secure. Look for a URL that begins with “https://” and the “closed padlock” icon. Click on the padlock to view the site’s security certificate. Some fraudulent websites may imitate the symbol, so it’s important to test the functionality of the icon.
  • Never leave your computer unattended while using any online banking or investing service.
  • Only access your personal financial information from a computer you “trust.” Internet kiosks and cyber cafes are not as secure as your personal computer.

What do you do if you suspect fraud or identity theft?

Please contact us as soon as possible if you notice any of the following:

  • Questionable account activity
  • You did not receive your statement(s)
  • You’ve encountered a fake email, website or pop-up window, especially if you responded to any of them with personal information.

 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), publishes an excellent pamphlet entitled “Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft.” Click here to review it online.

More Information

For more information about protecting your personal financial information, please visit:

For assistance developing an information security plan for your business including a recommended annual risk assessment and review of security controls, please visit:

Cookie Policy

We use cookies and/or similar technologies to analyse customer behaviour, administer the website, track users’ movements, and to collect information about users. This is done in order to personalise and enhance your experience with us.

A cookie is a tiny text file stored on your computer. Cookies store information that is used to help make sites work. Only we can access the cookies created by our website. You can control your cookies at the browser level. Choosing to disable cookies may hinder your use of certain functions.

We use cookies for the following purposes:

  • Necessary cookies – these cookies are required for you to be able to use some important features on our website, such as logging in. These cookies don’t collect any personal information.
  • Functionality cookies – these cookies provide functionality that makes using our service more convenient and makes providing more personalised features possible. For example, they might remember your name and e-mail in comment forms so you don’t have to re-enter this information next time when commenting.
  • Analytics cookies – these cookies are used to track the use and performance of our website and services.
  • You can remove cookies stored in your computer via your browser settings. Alternatively, you can control some 3rd party cookies by using a privacy enhancement platform such as optout.aboutads.info or youronlinechoices.com. For more information about cookies, visit allaboutcookies.org.
  • We use Google Analytics to measure traffic on our website. Google has their own Privacy Policy which you can review here. If you’d like to opt out of tracking by Google Analytics, visit the Google Analytics opt-out page.
  • Viewing/Removing your data.

Please visit the Privacy Tools page to remove or see your data.

New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp