What should you do if your card was compromised? 

It has been all over the news lately. A credit card processor that handles Visa, MasterCard and other types cards for small to mid size business and financial institutions was reported to have a security breach. It was reported that it affected 400 million accounts. You may have been a victim.

In June 2005, approximately 400 of our member Visa credit and debit cards were included in this breach. Letters were sent to each of these members.

So what should you do if you suspect your personal information is at risk? First, please carefully scrutinize your prior credit card statements for unusual or questionable activity. Your past Credit Union statements are available via OnLine Banking. Report any suspicious items to us or the applicable card issuer immediately. Second, if you haven't recently reviewed your credit report, now would be a good time. You can order a free copy of your credit report each year. Simply visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228 to order yours. It has been alleged that the breach occurred in September 2004 so your review should go back to that time period. If you feel more comfortable closing your existing card and getting a new, please call us or your other card issuers to make that request. The Credit Union will not assess a card reissue fee if you select this option.

This announcement in June was not the first major breach we've experienced and it probably won't be the last. We will do our part to notify you if we discover that your card may have been involved in a 3rd party compromise. We ask that you carefully review all your statements each month and report irregularities. Many states are enacting legislation that would require immediate notification to financial institutions and cardholders when data has been compromised. Our state trade association, the Washington State Credit Union League has issued a press release on their actions.

Please remember, we have issued letters to our cardholders that were affected. However, if you would like to confirm if your account was involved, please call our office during business hours and we will be happy to assist you.

For more information or assistance, please contact us and speak to any of our Account Managers.