Protecting Your Privacy

We recognize the importance of keeping information about you secure and confidential. It’s important for you to know that unlike many financial institutions, we do not sell or share any consumer’s nonpublic personal information with outside marketers. You also need to know that we carefully manage information to give you better service and more convenience.

Our Privacy Policy describes LCEF’s policy with respect to nonpublic personal information about consumers which means personally identifiable information about a consumer or a consumer’s current or former relationship with LCEF (“Consumer Information”). This policy is provided to you as required by the Federal Law.

Making Information Security a Priority

Keeping financial information secure is important. We value your trust and handle information about you with care. At LCEF we:

  • Limit access to Consumer Information to those persons who need to know that information to provide LCEF’s investment products and services to you. LCEF personnel and LCEF’s service providers having access to Consumer Information are required by LCEF to maintain confidential treatment of Consumer Information.
  • Maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with Federal Regulations to guard Consumer Information.
  • Periodically assess new technology for protecting information upgrading our systems when appropriate.

Collecting Information

We collect and use various types of information to service your investment and loan accounts. This enables us to help you learn more about investment and other products and services that may be of interest to you. We collect Consumer Information from the following sources.

  • Information you provide to us on applications and through other means, such as your name, address and telephone number
  • Information about your transactions and account experience with us, such as your account balance, your loan payment history and your account activity
  • Information from a consumer report, such as information regarding your creditworthiness or credit history (applies to Rostered Church Worker loan applicants or borrowers) or banking history (applies to StewardAccount® and Health Savings Account (HSA) investors.)
  • Information from other sources such as employers, creditors, insurers or other third parties (This applies only to Rostered Church Workers who have applied for or have a residential or consumer loan with LCEF.)
  • Other general information we obtain about you, such as demographic information
  • As required by the USA Patriot Act, we collect information and take actions necessary to verify your identification

The LCEF mobile application requests access to information stored on your device such as location, camera, contacts, or other features you are enrolled in to enrich and simplify your own user experience and improve our services, as well as provide additional security to protect your account.

Disclosure of Certain Information

Although we do not share Consumer Information with outside marketers, we do share information in certain circumstances in order to provide you with our products and services with greater convenience and more choices, and also as permitted by law. However, we do limit who receives Consumer Information and what type of information is shared.

Sharing information with companies that work for us

We may disclose the Consumer Information we collect, as described above, to companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or to other financial institutions with whom we have joint marketing agreements. We may also disclose Consumer Information to third-party service providers as necessary to process, service and provide access to your investment and loan accounts with LCEF in a manner that promotes a good customer experience.

The companies that work on our behalf are contractually obligated to keep the Consumer Information we provide to them confidential and to use the Consumer Information only to provide the services we’ve asked them to perform for you and us.

Disclosing information in other situations

We may also disclose Consumer Information to credit bureaus and similar organizations, and otherwise when permitted by law. For example, this may include:

  • A disclosure in connection with a subpoena or similar legal process.
  • A fraud investigation.
  • Recording of deeds of trust and mortgages in public records.
  • An audit or examination.

Ensuring Information Accuracy

Keeping your account information accurate and up-to-date is very important. We provide you with access to your investment or loan account information through various means such as account statements and online through MyAccount and online statements.

If you have questions or feel that we have not handled information about you properly, you may always contact us through our Information Center.

Keeping You Up to Date with Our Privacy Statement

LCEF will provide notice of our privacy statement annually, as long as you maintain an ongoing relationship with us. This policy may change from time to time, but you can always review our current policy on this website, or contact us for a copy at 800-843-5233.

Commitment to Privacy and Security

Whether you are a current customer or just visiting us online, Lutheran Church Extension Fund—Missouri Synod (LCEF) safeguards the information you provide us.

LCEF safeguards information according to established security standards and procedures, and we periodically assess new technology for protecting information. Our employees are trained to understand and comply with these information security standards and procedures.

Protecting information properly is a shared responsibility!

Network and Online Systems

Computer Virus Protection

LCEF uses sophisticated tools to detect and prevent computer viruses from entering its computer network systems.

Firewalls

A “firewall” is a system that blocks unauthorized interactive access from individuals or other networks. Every system that interacts with the Internet is at risk of attack from hackers. Firewalls are one way LCEF protects its systems that interact with the Internet.

Monitoring

LCEF places a strong emphasis with our employees on protecting information properly, ensuring that all vital information for our customers, clients and associates remains secure and confidential. LCEF utilizes sophisticated technology to detect and respond to unauthorized activity.

The World Wide Web

Internet Security

The Internet has changed the landscape of the world’s economy. When you log on to the World Wide Web, you have opened up a universe of information and communications. With all the benefits derived from using the Internet for business and personal use, there are some inherent risks. Sending sensitive information such as your Social Security number, credit card information or other personal data over the Internet can be dangerous if you cannot validate the reputation of the company you are doing business with and communicate over a “secure” means of transmission.

Before sending private information on the Internet, make sure you are using a “secure” connection. LCEF offers secure email through the MyAccount service.

Secured Transmissions

LCEF uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption for customer online transactions. “Encryption” is a communications process that scrambles private information to prevent unauthorized access as information is being transmitted between your browser and LCEF.

Protecting Your Security Online

Keeping financial and personal information secure is important. We value your trust and handle personal information with care.

Secure Transmissions

To ensure information remains confidential, LCEF uses encryption technology such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) on its website to transmit information between you and LCEF.

If you use LCEF’s MyAccount Internet financial service, you may send LCEF a secure email through the Secure Mail feature. Conversely, LCEF can respond to such emails, providing MyAccount users with sensitive information in an encrypted format.

Remember: Email transmissions through general or public email services are not secure. Therefore, any responses from LCEF back to your unsecured email address will not include confidential account information.

Gathering and Using Information Online

LCEF collects and uses the information you provide us online to respond to your needs, to service your investment and loan accounts, and to provide you information about other products and services.

Cookies

A “cookie” is a small piece of information that some websites send to your computer, which is stored in a file on your hard drive. There are two types of cookies: “persistent” cookies and “session” cookies.

Persistent cookies remain on your computer after you have finished browsing. The next time you visit that particular website, the site will search your hard drive for any previous cookies sent to it. Typically, websites do this to determine what type of transactions you have previously performed.

Session cookies are automatically deleted when you leave a website. Typically, websites use session cookies to keep track of your requests during your visit. For example, a shopping site might issue you a unique cookie ID and use that to identify which shopping basket (kept on the server) to store your selections in.

LCEF does not use persistent cookies. Session cookies are used to identify the section of the site that you are viewing so that we may present you with the appropriate information. LCEF also uses session cookies to identify your session when you are logged into a secure or password-protected area.

Usernames and passwords are NEVER stored in LCEF cookies.

Your web browser can be set to inform you when cookies are sent or prevent them from being sent.

Online Surveys

At times, we may conduct online surveys to help us better serve you. The information you provide us on surveys may be used for Internet marketing purposes. Based on the information you provide us, we may also inform you of other investment and loan products and services from LCEF. You are not required to complete online surveys.

Linking to Other Sites

We may provide links to other sites. If you choose to link to these other websites, we are not responsible for the privacy or security of these sites, including the accuracy, completeness, reliability or suitability of their information. If you are asked to provide information on one of these sites, we strongly urge you first to study carefully their Privacy Policies.

Taking Individual Responsibility for Protecting Your Personal Information

While LCEF works to protect your privacy, you also play a role in protecting personal information. To help safeguard information, we suggest the following.

  • If you are a MyAccount or online statements user, do not share your user name or password with anyone unless you are comfortable allowing him or her access to all your personal information and, in the case of MyAccount to request transactions to be made on your account.
  • Change your password regularly.
  • Remember to sign off once you have submitted an application for an online product or service, or completed a secure online session.
  • Only provide your user name when your browser indicates an encrypted connection, such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL), directly to the LCEF website or to another site you have investigated and fully trust.
  • Do not use the same password on more than one website.