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Banks hate Credit Unions.
Dear XXXXXXX,
Today, we want to remind you to stay vigilant and alert to potential fraudster activity. Unfortunately, scammers (unrelated to the cyber attackers) may also try to take advantage of this situation and pretend to be from Patelco in order to access your information or funds. Please read on for important guidance and best practices to help protect your information.
5 things we'll never call (or text) and ask for:
your card PIN
your online banking password
the CVV (3 digits) on the back of your card
your full account (MICR) number
personal information, like how long you’ve been a Patelco member
We have an experienced fraud team that can assist you
If you have concerns that a phone call, email or text you receive is fraudulent, or a feeling that something just doesn’t sound right, please call us directly at 800.358.8228 x 5323 to talk with a fraud specialist (weekdays 8am-6:30pm and Saturdays 9am-2pm PT).
Tips to help you stay safe
1. Rely on our official channels only
our website at patelco.org, especially patelco.org/SecurityUpdate
emails from no-reply@patelco.org and no-reply@email.patelco.org
our official social media channels, including X/Twitter and Facebook, which you can find links for at the bottom of our official website
Don’t take direction or get information anywhere else. And remember, our dedicated Security Incident & Information Center at patelco.org/SecurityUpdate is regularly updated with the latest information.
2. Don’t send or move money to “protect it”
Fraudsters frequently pose as banks and credit unions and ask you to send them money – such as crypto, wire transfers, gift cards or money orders – so they can open a new account and “protect” your money.
This is always a scam – don’t respond to any requests to move money.
3. Don’t give out your online banking or card details
We will never ask you for private information like your online banking User ID and password, your card number / CVV / PIN, or other private account information.
If someone asks you for this, they are a scammer. Refer back to our blog post on this topic for more information.
4. Beware of offers for loans or special relief
Scammers will often use a difficult event – whether it’s a natural disaster or a cyberattack and then offer loans or special "help” — which will require you to give up your personal information. We won’t reach out to you and ask for this.
We will continue to post updates on the cybersecurity incident through our dedicated Security Incident & Information Center at patelco.org/SecurityUpdate. Please continue to visit this web page for the latest on our current operations.
Sincerely,
Erin Mendez
President & CEO
Patelco Credit Union
TEN POUND BASS with his programming skills could have that system up and running in an hour. Just get someone to hold his beer.
If you do your banking with this credit union, you have huge problems. You cannot look at your deposit accounts and credit card accounts. If you go to purchase with your debit card, it will not work. Checks written to pay bills will not be cleared properly, if at all. We all have critical bills like electricity bills, water bills, etc. that must be paid or there will be cut-offs of electricity, natural gas, and water. Most of us have credit card bills, auto loans, consumer loans, etc. If these are not paid on time, one's credit rating will suffer. One's car loans could go into default. One's home loan could default. Repossession of cars and houses could follow. This is one of a person's worst nightmares.
The first question that we need to ask is "What went wrong at Patelco Credit Union?" In simple terms, an employee was not being alert and attentive. They clicked on what looked like an innocent link. The criminals were let into the bank's computer. As a matter of interest, from time to time I get a text message that appears to come from the U.S. Postal Service. It claims that a package is awaiting my pickup. I am directed to click on a link. I do not fall for this one. Elena gets questionable links from time to time. She always comes to me and asks me if it is bonafide. Sometimes these criminals use more sophisticated methods than links to break into a computer system. I will leave those to the cybersecurity experts.
The second question is how do you as a person or family protect yourself from a disaster like this? A simple pearl of wisdom from long ago applies here: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Have a backup financial institution and a high-limit credit card not tied to any bank. Also learn a lesson that I have learned from many dear Asian friends. Keep cash in the house.
The third question is what does Patelco Credit Union due to solve this crisis? Let us hope that they were smart enough to buy insurance against such a cyber-attack. Law enforcement agencies criticize insurers who quickly pay the criminals. It incentivizes others to launch these attacks. I hope that Patelco had a cyber-attack contingency plan. In my mind, an organization should resist paying this ransom. Sometimes a large investment must be made to rebuild a compromised computer system and make it more secure. Several other major credit unions in the Bay Area could step up and provide these 500,000 depositors with services while the computer system is being rebuilt.