Your Neighbourhood Credit Union (YNCU) is taking steps to protect and reimburse customers after they lost money from their accounts in a hacking incident that took place Friday evening.
The YNCU branch on Bay Street will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to assist customers.
The Trunk Road branch will be open at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Several YNCU customers who lost money voiced their concern in social media posts Saturday.
“I went on this morning and saw Keeping The Soo Safe and I saw the post. I checked my account and there was a charge of close to $600 to my account from Health Setting LLC in Renton WA,” said YNCU customer Kim Liepa in a phone interview with SooToday .
“I was very upset,” said YNCU customer Louise Nichols.
Nichols said she was charged twice by Health Setting LLC in Renton WA and lost approximately $1,000.
“I thought we're supposed to be safe at the bank but obviously we're not. You think it's not going to happen to you but there you go, it happened,” Nichols said.
Nichols said she was reimbursed for the fraudulent charges by YNCU later Saturday.
Customers are encouraged to review their account activity and YNCU’s Service Excellence Centre at 1-888-413-YNCU (9628) if they notice anything unfamiliar.
Call volumes will be much higher than usual.
The wait time to speak with a customer service representative was over 130 minutes Saturday afternoon.
“Members do not need to notify police. Police are aware of the situation and that we are reimbursing members,” Shaylan Spurway, YNCU spokesperson told SooToday .
YNCU officials declined to the number of members impacted or the dollar amount involved but did say the incident was confined to YNCU branches in Sault Ste. Marie.
YNCU operates 22 branches across southwestern and northern Ontario.
“We are in the process of refunding all impacted members beginning at 1 p.m. today. It may take some time over the holiday weekend, but we are committed to supporting every single member,” Kirstin Dias, YNCU VP of corporate communications told SooToday .
The full text of a YNCU news release follows:
Your Neighbourhood Credit Union (YNCU) is providing an update regarding a recent issue involving a small number of Visa Debit cards.
The issue has been addressed, and additional protective measures have been implemented to further strengthen card security. This was a Visa Debit card fraud attempt primarily affecting members in Sault Ste. Marie and is not related to the credit union’s banking system or online banking. YNCU continues to work closely with its partners to monitor and protect against unusual activity.
Members are encouraged to review their account activity and YNCU’s Service Excellence Centre at 1-888-413-YNCU (9628) if they notice anything unfamiliar. While call volumes may be higher than usual, YNCU is committed to supporting every impacted member and is proactively reaching out to those affected through outbound calls. YNCU is working directly with affected members and is in the process of refunding all confirmed unauthorized transactions.
“The security of our members’ accounts is our top priority,” said YNCU President and CEO Lisa Colangelo. “This issue has been addressed, and we have implemented additional safeguards to further strengthen protection. We are working directly with affected members and are committed to ensuring they are supported and their accounts remain secure.”
YNCU will continue to monitor the situation and take any additional steps required to protect and support members.
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