Protecting our Members: How we do it
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
Recently, a security breach occurred at several large retail stores. How the breach happened is still under investigation, but the security risk affected many Salal members and prompted us to block debit cards we were concerned may have been compromised. We realize that blocking and reissuing debit or credit cards causes our members inconvenience and concern, so we’d like to take a moment to explain our procedure.
The problem: fraudsters
Information hacking, as you’re no doubt aware, is a growing problem. According to a 2010 report by Javelin Strategy & Research, 11.1 million adults were identity theft victims in 2009: nearly 5% of the population. On average, victims spent 21 hours and nearly $400 resolving the issue. Salal always has and always will utilize best practices in protecting our members’ information, but despite all our security precautions, Salal, like every other financial institution, has occasional issues with compromised debit or credit cards.
The solution: Salal
We understand that it’s an inconvenience to find your card blocked, especially if you have to wait for the new card to arrive. However, we believe it’s in the best interests of our members to exercise caution in these circumstances. In the most recent situation, some cards had already been involved in fraudulent activity; blocking all potentially compromised cards saves members and our credit union the frustration, wasted time and expense of dealing with fraud. While we realize this is an inconvenience for members whose cards are blocked, we do our best to get new cards out to members quickly, but our highest priority remains security and your protection. However….
Speeding up the solution
Currently it takes our card vendor between 7-10 days to produce a new card and get it—securely—to the member. In order to minimize our members’ wait and inconvenience, Salal is looking into ways to accelerate the process of providing new cards to those members whose cards have been blocked. It may take time for us to find a solution that allows us to issue new cards more quickly and retain the high level of security our members expect and deserve. We appreciate your patience.
I am one of the persons who very recently had my debit card compromised (at my local craft store). I didn’t know till 3 days later that all this had happened when I found my debit card had been blocked. Although it is a HUGE inconvenience to deal with a blocked card, I commend Salal for blocking my card as promptly as you did. I’d rather suffer a blocked card than discover my account had been cleaned out any day! Good job Salal! Keep up the good work. Obtaining a new card faster would be nice, but not if it’s not safe and secure…I’ll gladly suffer a 10 day inconvenience knowing my account is safe and protected. You guys rock! ~Pat
Patricia,
Sorry to hear about your card and the subsequent inconvenience, but glad all worked out OK. Thank you for understanding that the security of our members’ accounts is our first concern! (and we think you rock too!)
Shannon