Effective 4/1/2021
This Online Privacy Notice (Notice) applies to this Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California's online interface (i.e., website or mobile application) and any Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California online interface that links to this Notice, (each, a Site, and, collectively, Sites). The term "Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California" or "we" or "us" or "our" and F&M Bank in this Notice refers to banking and non-banking affiliates or subsidiaries of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California that link to this Notice. This Notice describes how Sites may collect, use and share information from or about you and explains how information may be collected and used based on online interactions with our advertisements that appear on the Sites and third party websites.
1. Types of Information We Collect
We collect two basic types of information through the Services – personal information and anonymous information.
"Personal information" refers to information that identifies (whether directly or indirectly) a particular individual, such as information you provide on our forms, surveys, applications or similar online fields. Examples may include your name, postal address, email address, telephone number, Social Security number, date of birth or account information.
"Anonymous information" means information that does not directly or indirectly identify, and cannot reasonably be used to identify, a particular individual. Examples may include information about your Internet browser, information collected through tracking technologies (see "How We Collect Your Information" of this Policy for additional information regarding our use of tracking technologies), demographic information that you provide to us (e.g., your household income) and aggregated or de-identified data.
"Location information" means information that may be collected by certain mobile applications that identifies your physical location. This information may be collected from your mobile device's location-aware features when you request certain services that are dependent on your physical location.
2. How We Collect Your Information
We collect personal information from you or about you when you provide this information to us directly. For example, we may obtain personal information when you request information, products or services from us, register on the Website or an Application, contact customer support or otherwise interact with us. In addition, we may collect information about your activity on the Sites automatically using tracking technologies, such as cookies, Flash cookies and pixel tags. Definitions for the tracking technologies listed, as well as information regarding how to disable them, are available in the Online Tracking and Advertising section of this Policy.
3. How We Use Your Information
We may use information collected through the Sites in order to, among other things:
- Provide you with, or evaluate your eligibility for, products and services that you request from us
- Communicate with you about your accounts or transactions with us
- Send you important information regarding the Site, changes to this Policy, and/or other similar administrative information
- Consistent with local law, required disclosures, and choices and controls that may be available to you:
- Send you offers and promotions for our products and services, or products and services that may be of interest to you
- Personalize content and experiences on the Services
- Verify your identity and/or location (or the identity or location of your authorized representative) for security, fraud prevention and other risk control purpose
- Provide you with advertising based on your activity on the Services and on third-party websites and applications. For additional information regarding our use of your information for personalization and tracking, please refer to the Online Tracking and Advertising section of this Policy
- Optimize or improve our products and services
- Detect, investigate and prevent activities that may violate our policies or be illegal
- Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations
4. How We Share Your Information
We will not share your personal information outside F&M Bank, except under limited circumstances. Please refer to the Privacy Policy and the California Consumer Privacy Notice for additional information regarding how we may share personal information, as well as the choices you may be able to exercise in connection with such sharing.
5. Online Tracking and Advertising
We and certain trusted service providers operating on our behalf collect information about your activity on the Services using tracking technologies, including:
Cookies.
Cookies are pieces of information that are stored directly on the device that you are using. They allow us to collect information such as the type of browser you are using, the amount of time you spend using the Services, the websites or applications you visit and the preferences you have set up for your accounts. We use this information to personalize your experience, enhance security, facilitate navigation, display material more efficiently and recognize the device that you are using to access the Services. The Services do not use cookies that capture unencrypted personal information about you. You can choose to have your device refuse to accept any cookies, and the majority of devices and browsers offer additional privacy settings for cookies. You do this through your browser settings. Each device and each browser is a little different, so look at your device Settings or your browser Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies. If you turn cookies off, you will not have access to many features that make your user experience more efficient and some of the Services will not function properly. Please note that you will need to manage your cookie settings for each device and browser that you use.
Flash cookies.
We may use local shared objects, sometimes known as Flash cookies, to store your preferences and to assist with online authentication by allowing us to recognize you and your device when you return to the Website or an Application. This permits us to display content based upon what you view on our websites and applications to personalize your use of the Services. Our advertisers and third-party service providers also may use Flash cookies to collect and store information. Flash cookies are different from browser cookies because of the amount and type of data, as well as how data is stored. Cookie management tools provided by your device or browser will not remove Flash cookies. To learn how to manage privacy and storage settings for Flash cookies, please go to Adobe.com and search under "disable flash cookies" or "disable local shared objects". If you disable Flash cookies, you will not have access to many features that make your user experience more efficient and some of the Sites are unlikely to function properly.
Pixel tags, web beacons, clear GIFs and other similar technologies.
These are typically small pieces of data that are embedded in images on the Website, our Applications or certain e-mail communications. They may involve the transmission of information directly to us, to another party on our behalf or to another party in accordance with its privacy policy. We may use these technologies to bring together information we collect about you.
Location tracking on mobile devices.
Certain applications on mobile devices may transmit information to us about your location when you request information from them. An example includes your physical location when you search for a nearby ATM using your mobile device. We may use that information to improve the products and services we provide to you as well as improving our services generally in your area.
Information collected through tracking technologies is used for many purposes including, for example, to:
- Provide useful features to simplify your experience when you return to the Services
- Deliver relevant content based on your preferences, usage patterns and location
- Monitor and evaluate the use and operation of the Services
- Analyze traffic on the Services and on websites or mobile applications of third parties
We may associate this tracking data with your registration information, in which case we will treat it as personal information. Service providers that collect tracking data on our behalf may provide an opportunity for you to choose not to be tracked online.
Occasionally, you may encounter banner advertisements for our products and services on third-party websites and mobile applications. We use third-party advertising service providers to distribute our advertisements on websites and mobile applications where we have paid to advertise. These advertisements may use tracking technologies to capture information such as IP address, browser type and usage information in order to track the effectiveness of our advertising efforts. Such tracking technologies do not capture personal information about you, and our advertising service providers are prohibited from using any information collected except to track advertising effectiveness.
In addition, we may use advertising service providers such as Google, Yahoo and MSN to place advertisements for our accounts and services on websites not affiliated with us, and to help us determine which of our advertisements are most likely to be of interest to you using non-personal behavioral information. Advertisements placed by these service providers may use tracking technologies that allow monitoring of your responsiveness to such advertisements. We restrict access and collection of information by advertising service providers for purposes other than assisting us with our advertising efforts.
6. Linked Websites
The Services may contain links to third-party websites not controlled by F&M Bank. We encourage you to be aware when you leave the Services and to read the privacy policies and terms of use of any such websites that may collect your personal information, as they will likely differ from those of the Services. F&M Bank does not guarantee and is not responsible for the privacy or security of these websites, including the accuracy, completeness or reliability of their information.
7. Data Security
Your privacy is very important to F&M Bank and we are committed to protecting your personal information from unauthorized access or use. We have implemented physical, technical and administrative security measures that comply with federal law and industry standards, including network firewalls, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for online sessions, dedicated security teams and secured files and buildings. Please refer to the Security Statement portion of the Website for more information regarding data security for the Services.
8. Preventing Identity Theft
In order to help us protect your personal information, it is important that you always keep your account information safe. Never share your personal ID, password or PIN with anyone, under any circumstances. Note that F&M Bank will never initiate a request via email, text message, or phone call for your personal information (e.g., Social Security number, personal ID, password, PIN or account number). If you receive an email, text message, or phone call asking for your personal information, you should be suspicious of the request and promptly contact us or call (800) 888-1498, M-F, 8am-6pm, PT, to report the suspicious activity.
Please be aware, however, that in certain telephone and in-person transactions we may ask for your full Social Security number, account number or other information to verify your identity before conducting the transactions you have requested. For example, we may ask for such information to verify your identity when you place a call to us, or when you visit a F&M Bank branch office.
Additional information regarding identity theft and the steps you can take to help protect yourself from fraud can be found on the Federal Trade Commission website by searching under "Identity Theft".
9. Children's Privacy
This Site is not directed to individuals under the age of thirteen (13), and we request that these individuals do not provide Personal Information through the Site. We do not knowingly collect information from children under age 13 without parental consent. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with information without their consent, the parent or guardian should promptly contact us or call (800) 888-1498, M-F, 8am-6pm, PT, and we will delete such information from our files. For additional information regarding the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), please visit the Bureau of Consumer Protection Business Center and click on "Privacy & Security" then "Children's Privacy".
10. External Aggregation Services
Some third-party companies offer aggregation services that allow you to consolidate your financial account information from a variety of sources, such that you can view all your account information at a single online location. For example, an aggregation service might collect and consolidate your checking and savings account balances at your bank, the value of your stocks and bonds in your brokerage account and your frequent flier mileage information from an airline. In order to do so, the aggregator may request access to personal information including identification information, account information, personal IDs and passwords from you for each individual website. You must provide your permission and access to your personal information to allow these services to collect this data.
Please use caution when providing personal information to aggregation services. You should always ensure that the aggregator has appropriate policies and practices in place to protect the privacy and security of any personal information to which the company is gaining access. F&M Bank is not responsible for the use or disclosure of any personal information accessed by a company or an individual to whom you provide the personal ID and password required to access your accounts through the Services.
If you do elect to provide your personal ID, password or other information about your accounts with us to an aggregation service, you will be unable to contest the validity of any F&M Bank transaction initiated by the aggregator, whether or not you were aware of the specific transaction. Should you decide to revoke the authority you have given to an aggregation service, you may only do so by contacting us, or call (800) 888-1498, M-F, 8am-6pm, PT, in which case we may need to block your account until we issue new access codes.
11. Social Media Platforms
F&M Bank may interact with registered users of various social media platforms, including Facebook® and Twitter®. Please note that any content you post to such social media platforms (e.g., pictures, information or opinions), as well as any personal information that you otherwise make available to users (e.g., your profile or posts), is subject to the applicable social media platform's terms of use and privacy policies. We recommend that you review this information carefully in order to better understand your rights and obligations with regard to such content. Please do not post confidential personally identifiable information such as first name, last name, social security number(s), mother's maiden name and account number(s) or passwords. Criminals can use this information to steal your identity, open fraudulent credit accounts and loans in your name, or access your existing accounts.
12. Updating Your Information
It is very important that you keep the information associated with your account accurate and up-to-date. If you believe that your account information is incomplete, inaccurate or otherwise not current, please contact us at (800) 888-1498, M-F, 8am-6pm, PT, and provide us with the appropriate information. Alternatively, you may call or write to us at the telephone numbers or appropriate addresses for changes listed on your account statements, records, online or other account materials. Please do not include any confidential or personally identifiable information to us in email or online forms. (For example: don't include account numbers, password, social security number or mother's maiden name).
13. Changes to the Online Privacy Notice
From time to time, we may make changes to this Notice in order to accommodate new technologies, industry practices, regulatory requirements or for other purposes. We encourage you to review the Notice periodically to ensure that you understand how we collect, use and share information through the Sites. If we do make changes to the Notice, we will also update the "Effective Date" posted at the top of the Notice. Any changes to the Notice will become effective when the revised Notice is posted on the Website, relevant Application or other F&M Bank online interface, as applicable. By continuing to use the Sites following such changes, you are agreeing to accept the terms of the revised Notice.
14. Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments about this Notice or our privacy practices generally, we encourage you to contact our Customer Service Department at F&M Bank 121 W. Pine Street, Lodi, CA, 95240. Alternatively, you may contact us at (800) 888-1498, M-F, 8am-6pm, PT.
Contact us immediately in the event you notice suspicious activity on your account or believe your personal ID, password or PIN has been compromised. Suspicious emails may be forwarded to us at contact us, you can call us at (800) 888-1498, M-F, 8am-6pm, PT, or visit a local branch.