Secure Email Recipient Guide

 
1 
 
Contents 
Opening a Secure Message  2 
Registering with Proofpoint Encryption  4 
Replying to Your Secure Message  5 
Saving Your Secure Message  7 
Forgot Password  8 
Initiating a new Secure Message to Bank of America  9 
Logging Out  1 
Error Messages  2 
Forgotten Password ........................................................................................................................................... 2 
Account Temporarily Locked Out ...................................................................................................................... 2 
Key Expired ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 
Message Not Found ........................................................................................................................................... 3 
Other Errors ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 
Support  4 
 
   

Opening a Secure Message

When you receive a secure message, it will look similar to the below in your mailbox and may vary depending on

your chosen email client and operating system.

There are two options for opening a Secure Message:

Option #1 (Recommended):

Click the link labeled Click here to open the secure message prior to the date displayed. Depending on your

operating device, you may need to double click the link to open the secure message.

Option #2:

Open the SecureMessageATT.html attachment followed by Click to read message button. Depending on your

browser, the location of the SecureMessageATT.html attachment may vary.

NOTE: Internet Explorer is no longer supported for Proofpoint Encryption. Please use Chrome, Edge, Firefox or

Safari to access your secure message.

Note: Some email and webmail clients, like Mozilla Thunderbird, display the Proofpoint Encryption secure message

attachment inline. When you click the “Click to read message” link, you will see an error message. The solution is

to first save the attachment to disk (not to the desktop) before opening it.

Registering with Proofpoint Encryption

If this is your first time receiving a secure message from Bank of America, you will be prompted to register and

create an account with Proofpoint Encryption. There are two methods:

1. Click here displays the Registration page, or

2. Open the SecureMessageATT.html attachment, Click to read message displays the Registration page.

Complete the First Name, Last Name, Password, Confirm Password fields, then click the “Click here” link below the

Confirm Password field. The following message should appear*:

A Proofpoint Encryption validation code email will then be generated to your email address.

* If the green box does not appear, there is a security mechanism in place on your system. See the No validation

code received section in Error Messages.

Enter the Validation Code and click Continue. Depending on whether Option #1 or #2 was used to complete

registration, the secure message will either open or a message will be displayed confirming your registration has

been completed.

The next time you access a secure message, you will be prompted to log into Proofpoint Encryption using your

password.

Recommendation: When registering a shared email account, ensure all authorized users are informed of the

credentials for accessing the secure message.

Replying to Your Secure Message

After you open a secure message, click Reply to send a Secure Reply message back to the original sender. When

available, clicking ReplyAll sends a Secure Reply message to the sender and other recipients on the original email.

Additional recipients CANNOT be added to the secure message.

To receive a copy of your reply message, check the Send me a copy option. Depending on your email application,

receiving a copy may be blocked.

Your email address will appear

To add an attachment using a computer (not available for Mobile Devices), click Attach a File and follow the

prompts.

Once your reply is fully composed, click Send.

The following message displays when the email has been sent successfully. Click New Message to compose a new

secure message or click Logout.

Saving Your Secure Message

Use the Save As option to download your secure message to your computer.

Messages with an attachment will have these Save As options:

Messages without an attachment will have these Save As options:

Save Message Body as HTML – downloads ONLY the message body as

<Subject line of the secure

email message>.html

Save as Zip Archive – downloads the message body and associated attachments as

<Subject line of

secure email message>.zip.

Save as EML Message – composes a RFC2822 message based on the Secure Reader message content. This option

does not include embedded images.

Forgot Password

If you forget your password, click the Forgot Password link on the Login page. You will be presented with an Enter

New Password screen. Complete each field, then click the Click here link.

The following note should appear and an email will be generated to your email address.

Enter the code, then click Continue. You will then be able to read your secure message. Note that you will receive a

“Proofpoint Encryption Password Reset Confirmation” email once the process is complete.

Initiating a new Secure Message to Bank of America

Important: To initiate a secure message to Bank of America, you must already be registered with Proofpoint

Encryption. If not already registered, you will need to register by opening a secure message sent to you.

Go to https://secmail.bankofamerica.com/compose (save to Favorites). Fill in your Email Address, click Continue.

Enter your Password and click Continue. Compose your message and click Send. The message displays your email

has been sent successfully. Click New Message to compose another secure message or click Logout.

Important: For security reasons, registering, authenticating and composing secure messages with Proofpoint

Encryption must be completed in the same browser and on the same system, within a 30 minute period.

Logging Out

To logout of your secure message account, click the Logout button located in the top Right corner of an opened

secure message or click Logout after sending a secure message. The Logged Out message returns.

Error Messages

No Validation Code Received

If no validation code is received when registering for a Proofpoint Encryption account or resetting your password,

and no “new code sent” notice is displayed, your system has some type of security mechanism in place to prevent

certain behaviors. Options to try:

1. Try using a different browser to open the secure message; we are seeing this issue with Chrome; Edge

seems to work better.

2. If you have the ability to check your email via your mobile phone, disable your Wifi connection to your

phone. Ensure you are using mobile data, not Wifi. Then open the secure message via your mobile phone.

You should be able to complete all steps to register and read the email. Note that you may be able to open

secure emails on your computer now; however, it’s possible the same security mechanisms will continue

to prevent access from your computer.

3. Contact your technical support staff and explain that you are unable to generate a validation email or

access your secure email because of a security mechanism impacting your system.

Forgotten Password

You will receive this message if you have entered an incorrect password. Click the “Forgot Password” link to

remediate.

Account Locked Out

You will receive the following message after five (5) failed password attempts. Return to the secure message and

click the link or open the attachment to register for a new account.

Key Expired

The secure message is more than 90 days old and has expired. Contact the sender to resend the secure message.

Message Not Found

An attempt to view the secure message using the “Click here” link after the displayed date will return a “Message

Not Found” error.

The message is no longer available via the “click here” link, but can be accessed by opening the

SecureMessageATT.html attachment. The email will be available for 90 days via the attachment.

Other Errors

For other common errors such as: Bad Request, Request Entity Too Long, Forbidden or Server Unavailable, Page

Cannot Be Found, etc., the solution may be remedied by the following:

1. Clear browsing history, cache and cookies of the current browser. Once done, close all browsers and then

try to open the secure email. Keep in mind that Internet Explorer is no longer a supported browser.

2. Save the SecureMessageAtt.html in the secure email onto your desktop and open it with a different

browser (this only works with desktops or laptops).

Support

For Bank of America’s Secure Messaging support hours and contact information, please visit Secure Messaging

Information.