Updated: August 24, 2023

STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION

 GRAMM-LEACH BLILEY PRIVACY NOTICE

This Stewart Information Services Corporation Privacy Notice (“Notice”) explains how we and our affiliates and majority-owned subsidiary companies (collectively, “Stewart,” “our,” or “we”) collect, use, and protect personal information, when and to whom we disclose such information, and the choices you have about the use and disclosure of your information.  Pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (“GLBA”) and other Federal and state laws and regulations applicable to financial institutions, consumers have the right to limit some, but not all sharing of their personal information. Please read this Notice carefully to understand how Stewart uses your personal information.

The types of personal information Stewart collects, and shares depends on the product or service you have requested.

Stewart may collect the following categories of personal and financial information from you throughout your transaction:

  1. Identifiers: Real name, alias, online IP address if accessing company websites, email address, account name, unique online identifier, or other similar identifiers.
  2. Demographic Information: Marital status, gender, date of birth.
  3. Personal Information and Personal Financial Information: Full name, signature, social security number, address, driver’s license number, passport number, telephone number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, credit reports, or any other information necessary to complete the transaction.

Stewart may collect personal information about you from:

  1. Publicly available information from government records.
  2. Information we receive directly from you or your agent(s), such as your lender or real estate broker.
  3. Information we receive from consumer reporting agencies and/or governmental entities, either directly from these entities or through others.

Stewart may use your personal information for the following purposes:

  1. To provide products and services to you in connection with a transaction.
  2. To improve our products and services.
  3. To communicate with you about our affiliates’, and others’ products and services, jointly or independently.

Stewart may use or disclose the personal information we collect for one or more of the following purposes:

  1. To fulfill or meet the reason for which the information is provided.
  2. To provide, support, personalize, and develop our website, products, and services.
  3. To create, maintain, customize, and secure your account with Stewart.
  4. To process your requests, purchases, transactions, and payments and prevent transactional fraud.
  5. To prevent and/or process claims.
  6. To assist third party vendors/service providers who complete transactions or perform services on Stewart’s behalf pursuant to valid service provider agreements.
  7. As necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property or safety of Stewart, our customers, or others.
  8. To provide you with support and to respond to your inquiries, including to investigate and address your concerns and monitor and improve our responses.
  9. To help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our website, products and services, databases and other technology-based assets, and business.
  10. To respond to law enforcement or regulator requests as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
  11. Auditing for compliance with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.
  12. Performing services including maintaining or servicing accounts, providing customer service, processing, or fulfilling orders and transactions, verifying customer information, processing payments.
  13. To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by us is among the assets transferred.

Stewart will not collect additional categories of personal information or use the personal information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice.

Disclosure of Personal Information to Affiliated Companies and Nonaffiliated Third Parties

Stewart does not sell your personal information to nonaffiliated third parties.  Stewart may share your information with those you have designated as your agent throughout the course of your transaction (for example, your realtor, broker, or a lender).  Stewart may disclose your personal information to non-affiliated third-party service providers and vendors to render services to complete your transaction.

We share your personal information with the following categories of third parties:

  1. Non-affiliated service providers and vendors we contract with to render specific services (For example, search companies, mobile notaries, and companies providing credit/debit card processing, billing, shipping, repair, customer service, auditing, marketing, etc.)
  2. To enable Stewart to prevent criminal activity, fraud, material misrepresentation, or nondisclosure.
  3. Stewart’s affiliated and subsidiary companies.
  4. Parties involved in litigation and attorneys, as required by law.
  5. Financial rating organizations, rating bureaus and trade associations, taxing authorities, if required in the transaction.
  6. Federal and State Regulators, law enforcement and other government entities to law enforcement or authorities in connection with an investigation, or in response to a subpoena or court order.

The law does not require your prior authorization or consent and does not allow you to restrict the disclosures described above.  Additionally, we may disclose your information to third parties for whom you have given us authorization or consent to make such disclosure. We do not otherwise share your Personal Information or browsing information with non-affiliated third parties, except as required or permitted by law.

Right to Limit Use of Your Personal Information
You have the right to opt-out of sharing of your personal information among our affiliates to directly market to you.  To opt-out of sharing your information with affiliates for direct marketing, you may send an “opt out” request to Privacyrequest@stewart.com


Postal Address: Stewart Information Services Corporation
Attn: Mary Thomas, Chief Compliance and Regulatory Officer
1360 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 100, MC #14-1
Houston, TX  77056

Effective Date: January 1, 2020
Updated: August 24, 2023

PRIVACY NOTICE FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

Stewart Information Services Corporation and its affiliates and majority-owned subsidiary companies (collectively, “Stewart,” “our,” or “we”) respect and are committed to protecting your privacy.  Pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) and the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CPRA”), we are providing this Privacy Notice (“CCPA Notice”).  This CCPA Notice explains how we collect, use, and disclose personal information, when and to whom we disclose such information, and the rights you, as a California resident have regarding your Personal Information.  This CCPA Notice supplements the information contained in Stewart’s existing privacy notice and applies solely to all visitors, users, consumers, and others who reside in the State of California or are considered California Residents as defined in the CCPA (“consumers” or “you”).  All terms defined in the CCPA & CPRA have the same meaning when used in this Notice.

Personal information that is collected, processed, sold, or disclosed pursuant to the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) is exempt from the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). GLBA is a federal law that regulates the use and disclosure of personal information by financial institutions. Personal information obtained by AccountChek from financial institutions is regulated by GLBA. Consumers grant AccountChek authorization to collect their personal information from financial institutions and share it for specific purposes described in AccountChek’s Terms of Service Agreement, which is presented to end users in the AccountChek® application.

AccountChek has implemented and maintains data security measures designed to ensure that personal information is secure and encrypted at rest or in transit. 

Personal and Sensitive Personal Information Stewart Collects

Stewart has collected the following categories of personal and sensitive personal information from consumers within the last twelve (12) months:

  1. Identifiers. A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.
  2. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)). A name, signature, Social Security number, address, telephone number, passport number, driver’s license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information.
  3. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law. Age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, marital status, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression), veteran or military status.
  4. Commercial information. Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.
  5. Internet or other similar network activity. Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with a website, application, or advertisement.
  6. Geolocation data

Stewart obtains the categories of personal and sensitive information listed above from the following categories of sources:

  • Directly and indirectly from customers, their designees, or their agents (For example, realtors, lenders, attorneys, brokers, etc.)
  • Directly and indirectly from activity on Stewart’s website or other applications.
  • From third parties that interact with Stewart in connection with the services we provide. 

Use of Personal and Sensitive Personal Information

Stewart may use or disclose the personal or sensitive information we collect for one or more of the following purposes:

  1. To fulfill or meet the reason for which the information is provided.
  2. To provide, support, personalize, and develop our website, products, and services.
  3. To create, maintain, customize, and secure your account with Stewart.
  4. To process your requests, purchases, transactions, and payments and prevent transactional fraud.
  5. To prevent and/or process claims.
  6. To assist third party vendors/service providers who complete transactions or perform services on Stewart’s behalf pursuant to valid service provider agreements.
  7. As necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property or safety of Stewart, our customers, or others.
  8. To provide you with support and to respond to your inquiries, including to investigate and address your concerns and monitor and improve our responses.
  9. To personalize your website experience and to deliver content and product and service offerings relevant to your interests, including targeted offers and ads through our website, third-party sites, and via email or text message (with your consent, where required by law).
  10. To help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our website, products and services, databases and other technology-based assets, and business.
  11. To respond to law enforcement or regulator requests as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
  12. Auditing for compliance with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.
  13. Performing services including maintaining or servicing accounts, providing customer service, processing, or fulfilling orders and transactions, verifying customer information, processing payments, providing advertising or marketing services or other similar services.
  14. To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by us is among the assets transferred.

Stewart will not collect additional categories of personal or sensitive information or use the personal or sensitive information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice.

Disclosure of Personal Information to Affiliated Companies and Nonaffiliated Third Parties

Stewart does not sell your personal information to nonaffiliated third parties.  Stewart may share your information with those you have designated as your agent throughout the course of your transaction (for example, a realtor, broker, or a lender).

We share your personal information with the following categories of third parties:

  1. Service providers and vendors we contract with to render specific services (For example, search companies, mobile notaries, and companies providing credit/debit card processing, billing, shipping, repair, customer service, auditing, marketing, etc.)
  2. Affiliated Companies.
  3. Parties involved in litigation and attorneys, as required by law.
  4. Financial rating organizations, rating bureaus and trade associations.
  5. Federal and State Regulators, law enforcement and other government entities

In the preceding twelve (12) months, Stewart has disclosed the following categories of personal information:

Category A:  Identifiers
Category B:  California Customer Records personal information categories
Category C:  Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law
Category D:  Commercial Information
Category E:  Internet or other similar network activity
Category F:   Non-public education information

  • Your Consumer Rights and Choices Under CPPA and CPRA

The CCPA and CPRA provide consumers (California residents as defined in the CCPA) with specific rights regarding their personal information.  This section describes your rights and explains how to exercise those rights.

  • Access to Specific Information and Data Portability Rights

You have the right to request that Stewart disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months.  Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, Stewart will disclose to you:

  1. The categories of personal information Stewart collected about you.
  2. The categories of sources for the personal information Stewart collected about you.
  3. Stewart’s business or commercial purpose for collecting that personal information.
  4. The categories of third parties with whom Stewart shares that personal information.
  5. The specific pieces of personal information Stewart collected about you (also called a data portability request).
  6. If Stewart disclosed your personal data for a business purpose, a listing identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient obtained.
  • Deletion Request Rights

You have the right to request that Stewart delete any personal information we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, Stewart will delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies.

Stewart may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service providers to:

  1. Complete the transaction for which we collected the personal information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you.
  2. Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
  3. Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
  4. Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.
  5. Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 ).
  6. Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the information’s deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the research’s achievement, if you previously provided informed consent.
  7. Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us.
  8. Comply with a legal obligation.
  9. Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.
  • Opt-Out of Information Sharing and Selling

Stewart does not share or sell information to third parties, as the terms are defined under the CCPA and CPRA.  Stewart only shares your personal information as commercially necessary and in accordance with this CCPA Notice.

The CCPA provides consumers with the right, at any time, to opt-out of a business’s sale of a consumer’s personal information to third parties. Businesses that sell personal information to third parties are required to provide notice that personal information may be sold and that consumers have the right to opt-out. IR does not send marketing communications directly to consumers nor do we sell consumer information to other third parties. If you would like to opt-out of credit offers and stop Trigger leads generated by the bureaus, please take the following steps:

  1. Register for Opt-Out Prescreen at optoutprescreen.com. This will stop all credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) from selling their name as a trigger lead for at least a 5-year period. Once requested, it takes approximately 5 days to become effective.
  2. Register name and phone number to reduce telemarketing efforts on the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 from each phone number they wish to register. Once requested, it takes approximately 31 days to become effective.

Register with the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service to opt out of commercial mailings for 5 years with a $1 processing fee at dmachoice.org. DMA distributes its lists quarterly, so effective date can vary upon when your request is submitted.

  • Correction of Inaccurate Information

You have the right to request that Stewart correct any inaccurate information maintained about.

  • Limit the Use of Sensitive Personal Information

You have the right to limit how your sensitive personal information, as defined in the CCPA and CPRA is disclosed or shared with third parties.

Exercising Your Rights Under CCPA and CPRA

If you have questions or comments about this notice, the ways in which Stewart collects and uses your information described herein, your choices and rights regarding such use, or wish to exercise your rights under California law, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us by the available means provided below:

  1. Emailing us at OptOut@stewart.com; or ComplianceDepartment@InformativeResearch.com
  1. Visiting http://stewart.com/ccpa or https://www.informativeresearch.com/privacy-policy/
  1. By Mail:
    Informative Research
    Compliance Department
    California Privacy Rights Request
    PO Box 2379
    Garden Grove, CA 92842

 Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information.  You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child, if applicable.

To designate an authorized agent, please contact Stewart through one of the methods mentioned above.

You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access or data portability twice within a 12-month period. The verifiable consumer request must:

  • Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative.
  • Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.

Stewart cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you.

Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with Stewart.

Response Timing and Format

We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt.  If we require more time (up to an additional 45 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing.
A written response will be delivered by mail or electronically, at your option.
Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable consumer request’s receipt.  The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable.
Stewart does not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded.  If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

Non-Discrimination

Stewart will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights.  Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not:

  • Deny you goods or services.
  • Charge you a different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties.
  • Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.
  • Suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

Record Retention

Your personal information will not be kept for longer than is necessary for the business purpose for which it is collected and processed.  We will retain your personal information and records based on established record retention policies pursuant to California law and in compliance with all federal and state retention obligations.  Additionally, we will retain your personal information to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes (such as responding to subpoenas or court orders), and to respond to legal claims, resolve disputes, and comply with legal or regulatory recordkeeping requirements.

Changes to This CCPA Notice
Stewart reserves the right to amend this CCPA Notice at our discretion and at any time.  When we make changes to this CCPA Notice, we will post the updated Notice on Stewart’s website and update the Notice’s effective date.

Link to Privacy Notice
Stewarts Privacy Notice can be found on our website at https://www.stewart.com/en/privacy.html.

Contact Information
Stewart Information Services Corporation
Attn:  Mary Thomas, Chief Compliance and Regulatory Officer
1360 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 100, MC #14-1
Houston, TX  77056

AccountChek™ by Informative Research

Automated Asset Verification

AccountChek™ is an automated, web-based service that allows lenders to verify and monitor a potential borrower’s asset accounts during the credit application and approval process. AccountChek eliminates a borrower’s need to engage in the time-consuming process of locating, copying and transmitting important financial documents to their lender, often through insecure channels. Our service eliminates issues –like missing pages and lost or misplaced documents– that slow down the review and approval process. Because we obtain the asset information directly from the borrower’s financial institution or brokerage, our service also minimizes transcription errors and maximizes accuracy. This means that lenders are sure that they are basing their decisions on accurate information. Our service saves time for everyone involved in the transaction and reduces lender losses, which makes credit less expensive and more available to more customers.

AccountChek™ 3n1 by Informative Research
Automated Asset, Employment, and Income Verification
AccountChek™ 3n1 is an automated, web-based service that allows lenders to verify and monitor a potential borrower’s asset accounts and verify the borrower’s employment status and income during the credit application and approval process. AccountChek 3n1 eliminates a borrower’s need to engage in the time-consuming process of locating, copying, and transmitting important financial documents to their lender, often through insecure channels. Our service eliminates issues –like missing pages and lost or misplaced documents– that slow down the review and approval process. Because we obtain the asset information directly from the borrower’s financial institution or brokerage and employment and income information from the borrower’s payroll provider, our service also minimizes transcription errors and maximizes accuracy. This means that lenders are sure that they are basing their decisions on accurate information. Our service saves time for everyone involved in the transaction and reduces lender losses, which makes credit less expensive and more available to more customers.

We understand the importance of protecting individuals’ sensitive financial information. We designed this Privacy Statement to help you understand how the AccountChek and AccountChek 3n1 services will collect, use and disclose borrowers’ financial data.

Special note on children’s privacy: AccountChek and AccountChek 3n1 are not designed or intended to attract or be accessible to minors (children under age 18). We will not knowingly collect personal information from minors.

This policy covers the following topics:

  • Information we collect about borrowers and how we use it;
  • Who we share borrowers’ information with; and
  • How we protect borrowers’ personal information.

INFORMATION COLLECTION AND USE
We collect personal and non-personal information from borrowers based on borrowers’ consent. We are acting as an intermediary for the borrower’s lender when we do so. We collect this information in order to provide the AccountChek and AccountChek 3n1 services and to improve our services.

Information We Collect from Borrowers

Information to Verify Asset Accounts: The AccountChek service allows lenders to verify a borrower’s assets through direct read access to a borrower’s financial account data. Borrowers must expressly agree to allow AccountChek to obtain and furnish financial account information to a prospective creditor, and to provide his/her identifying credentials for the accounts that need to be verified. The borrower’s credentials may include username, password and answers to challenge questions. While the accounts are being verified and lenders are able to update that information (the refresh period; usually 30 to 90 days) the credentials are stored in a secure hardware-encrypted repository that is inaccessible to humans managed by AccountChek’s designated data access vendor.

Information to Verify Employment and Income: The AccountChek 3n1 service allows lenders to verify a borrower’s employment through direct read access to a borrower’s payroll account data. Borrowers must expressly agree to allow AccountChek 3n1 to obtain and furnish payroll account information to a prospective creditor, and to provide his/her identifying credentials for the accounts that need to be verified. The borrower’s credentials may include username, password and answers to challenge questions. While the accounts are being verified and lenders are able to update that information (the refresh period; usually 30 to 90 days) the credentials are stored in a secure hardware-encrypted repository that is inaccessible to humans managed by AccountChek 3n1’s designated data access vendor.

Log information: Our servers automatically collect log information from site visitors. This information may include the Web page request, Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of the request, and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify the visitor’s browser. We collect log information so that we can properly administer our system and gather aggregate information about how our site is being used, including the pages visitors are viewing.

Cookies: We use session cookie technology to keep track of visitors as they navigate from one page to the next on the site. When the session is ended and the visitor closes his/her browser, the session cookies are automatically deleted.

Browser software can be set to reject all cookies or to accept cookies only from our site. Most browsers offer instructions on how to reset the browser to reject cookies in the “Help” section of the toolbar. Rejecting cookies will prevent further use of the AccountChek and AccountChek 3n1 services.

Information We Collect from Others
We collect information about borrowers from the lender who orders the account verification, from the financial institution(s) that provide the account verification data, and from the payroll provider’s that provide the employment and income verification data.

The information provided by the lender includes the borrower’s name, e-mail address, telephone number, the last four digits of his/her Social Security Number (for identity authentication), and the name of the borrower’s employer(s).

The information we receive from the borrower’s financial institution(s) includes the summary and transactional information from the accounts the borrower allows us to verify.

The information we receive from the borrower’s payroll provider(s) includes the summary of employment information and income information from the accounts the borrower allows us to verify.

We will share this information in individually identifiable form only in accordance with this statement and our policies. We may share aggregated, non-personal information. This may include information we obtained from third parties in a form that does not reasonably permit the borrower to be identified.

AccountChek works to deliver accurate, complete, and current borrower information by pulling information directly from the borrower’s financial institution and payroll provider via online credentials. Data can be refreshed by the lender as needed to fulfill underwriting obligations for the duration of the order.

HOW WE USE THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
AccountChek and AccountChek 3n1 use the information we collect to provide verification and analysis of a borrower’s asset accounts, employment information, and income data, respectively, to the requesting lender, to administer our web site, and to improve our service.

AccountChek and AccountChek 3n1 do not sell, share, license or transmit borrower information with or to third parties without the express authorization of the borrower.

WHO SEES THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT?
We will not disclose this information except as described in this policy.

Verification Service delivery: We will disclose the information we receive from the borrower’s financial institutions and/or payroll provider to the requesting lender, as well as to any other parties that the borrower authorizes us to provide such information, to deliver the Verification of Deposit, Asset, Income, and/or Employment services.

Disclosure for legal reasons: We may release personal information to third parties: (1) to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order; or (2) in special cases, such as a physical threat to the borrower or others, a threat to homeland security, a threat to our system or network, or cases in which we believe it is reasonably necessary to investigate or prevent harm, fraud, abuse, or illegal conduct. If we are legally compelled to disclose your personal information to a third party, we will make reasonable efforts to notify the borrower unless doing so would violate the law or court order.

Agents and contractors: Contractors who assist in operating our business and providing products or services sometimes have access to borrowers’ personal information. These contractors include vendors and suppliers that provide us with technology, services, and/or content for the operation and maintenance of our site. Access to borrowers’ personal information by these contractors is limited to the information reasonably necessary for the contractor to perform its limited function. Contractors have an obligation under their contracts with us to keep borrower information confidential and to comply with our privacy and security policies.

Some of these relationships may be with companies that co-brand portions of their site and services, or that provide services to borrowers on our behalf. Co-branded sites may have their own privacy policies posted on their sites. If you visit a co-branded site, please read the privacy policy that is posted on that site.

Direct Employees of AccountChek: Employees are NOT authorized to download information that is not directly related to their work. Prior to downloading any software tools, all employees are advised to notify an Operations staff member of this intention. If help is needed, the local system administrator will provide support. Employees are NOT authorized to download data from any production, stage, or QA system without prior written approval. Prior to downloading any data, all employees must follow the Data Privacy Download Procedures. This includes any and all data that is confidential, sensitive or legally protected, including log files.

AccountChek is owned by Informative Research (“IR”). Employees must follow the IR Privacy Policy and adhere to the IR Privacy Principles or be subject to disciplinary action per the IR Employee Handbook. Employees will be required to sign off yearly that they have read and understand this policy.

Changes in our corporate structure: If all or part of our company is sold, merged or otherwise transferred to another entity, the personal information you have provided to us may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will take steps to ensure that any personal information that is transferred will not be used or shared in a manner inconsistent with the Privacy Policy under which it was collected.

HOW WE SAFEGUARD PERSONAL INFORMATION
We are committed to protecting the security of borrowers’ private information through procedures and technology designed for this purpose. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Limiting access to personal information to only those employees who have a reasonable need to access this information in order to provide our products and services. Employees who misuse information are subject to disciplinary action, including termination;
  • Utilizing physical, technical, and procedural safeguards to help protect borrowers’ personal information; and
  • Using secure transport layer security (TLS) to help protect this information while it is in transit between our servers and others’ computers and hardware encryption devices. We use AES-256 encryption while it is being stored on our servers.

WHAT BORROWERS CAN DO TO HELP KEEP PERSONAL INFORMATION SECURE
Log out and close the browser: Closing the browser at the end of a session erases any information it may have temporarily stored on your computer.

Install antivirus software and spyware protection: Installing up-to-date antivirus software and running it often will help thwart viruses and other unwanted programs that can capture the contents of a borrower’s system, including passwords.

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
We may change our privacy policy in the future, but we will not change our practices until they have been posted at this website. If changes occur, we will also show the date of revision. By using our web sites, to which this privacy policy applies, you agree that we may notify you of changes in our privacy policy through this website.

Responsibility and accountability for developing, documenting, implementing, enforcing, monitoring, and updating the Privacy Policy falls to the Compliance Team whose contact information is available on the company intranet and web page.

Privacy Incident of Breach
In the event that IR suspects that borrower information has been compromised, IR will make every effort to contact and inform borrowers per its Incident Response Plan. This will include phone call or email.

CONTACT
The AccountChek suite of products are automated asset, employment, and/or income verification services provided by Informative Research. If you have questions or comments about this privacy policy, please e-mail us at ac-compliance@informativeresearch.com or write to Informative Research Inc., 13030 Euclid St, Ste 209, Garden Grove, CA 92843.

To request a copy of your consumer data supplied by Informative Research or an amendment to that information please email ac-compliance@informativeresearch.com , call (800) 225-9498 or contact your lender directly.