Product: SiteKey
Company: Bank of America Corp.

It seems that recently, there is news relating to data security breaches, account hacking and identity theft in every issue of The Green Sheet. In fact, these incidents are so prevalent these days, it's unusual when there isn't any news about them.

One good piece of news amid all the reports of financial fraud is that hello allmore prevention tools are available. Bank of America Corp. (BofA) is the latest to introduce a solution. The bank is rolling out SiteKey in regional increments to protect its online banking customers across the country.

With SiteKey, BofA provides its online banking customers with a deeper layer of protection from prying eyes, and reduces the potential for identity theft or having their accounts hacked. The service is free to all BofA online banking customers; it takes only a few moments for them to sign up.

When customers log on, they click the SiteKey button to ensure that they are on the genuine BofA Web site and not a "spoof" site used to fraudulently obtain financial information from unwitting consumers. BofA customers select an image from a list of thousands, write a short identifying phrase and come up with three personal "challenge" questions for added security.

Even if a customer's password and username are stolen, potential criminals still have to answer the personal questions correctly to gain access. Online banking customers, relying on other anti-fraud features within SiteKey, can also detect fraud earlier by reviewing account activity on a regular basis, as opposed to waiting for their monthly statements.

BofA has introduced SiteKey in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., North and South Carolina and Georgia.

Bank of America Corp.
www.bankofamerica.com