Bank of America Expands SiteKey To Northeast

"We're the first major bank to offer this extra level of protection and we're making it a standard part of signing-in to help protect all of our Online Banking customers from fraud and identity theft," said Sanjay Gupta, e-Commerce executive. "Signing up for SiteKey only takes a few minutes, and it's easy to use because you don't need extra hardware or other equipment."

Also in December, the bank took an additional security step to help customers identify fraudulent Web sites by posting the Bank of America Toolbar, powered by EarthLink, on the home page for free. The toolbar provides an icon that changes colors as the consumer surfs the Internet, letting the person know with a red, yellow or green symbol whether they've landed on what could be a dangerous Web site. It also alerts consumers before they go to a Web page that is on a list of known phisher sites. The toolbar also includes a pop-up blocker tool, which prevents advertising windows from appearing in the consumer's main browser window.

SiteKey and the Bank of America Toolbar are part of an umbrella of security measures that includes a zero liability guarantee that protects customers from fraud losses, two-tiered authentication for funds transfers, and the capability for customers to stop receiving paper statements to reduce risks associated with sending sensitive information through the mail.

Bank of America also has enhanced the privacy and security sections of its Web site to include more tips about online and offline security. The site is at bankofamerica.com/privacy.