Nearly half a million customers of a Dublin-based credit union are unable to access their money due to a “serious security incident” on Sunday.
Patelco Credit Union, which has branches across the state, told customers it had to shut down “some of our daily banking systems” because of the incident.
“We are writing to inform you that on June 29, we experienced a serious security incident. This required us to shut down some of our everyday banking systems in order to remediate and contain the impact, including online banking, our mobile app, and our call center,” Erin Mendez, Patelco’s president and CEO, wrote in an email to consumers. “Currently, electronic transactions such as transfers (including Zelle), direct deposits, balance inquiries, and payments are unavailable.”
Patelco Credit Union, which has locations across the state, told customers it had to shut down “some of our daily banking systems” due to the serious incident, Alyssa Goard reports.
According to Mendez, the credit union has been working with cybersecurity teams since Saturday to resolve the issue and restore online services. However, it is unclear when the issue will be resolved.
The company initially informed customers of the outage on Saturday morning.
NBC Bay Area did not receive immediate comment from Patelco on Sunday.
Patelco has 33 branches in the Bay Area and said they would be open Monday and “ready to assist as much as possible during our regular business hours.”
The company tapped X, formerly Twitter, to inform its customers that they can access cash withdrawals and deposits at specific ATMs within the credit union’s Co-Op network. According to the company, there are more than “30,000 shared ATMs in the United States.”
On Sunday, at Patelco headquarters, many customers came to the vending machines in the hope of finding clarification. Customers found that they were able to withdraw money from these ATMs, but they were unable to check their account balances or make transfers.
Erykah Phillips of Antioch said earlier this weekend she realized something was wrong when she couldn’t receive payment for her business. She was unable to access her account information online or through the Patelco customer service phone line.
“There was just a message saying ‘We’re experiencing technical difficulties’ and the phone hung up, that’s it,” Phillips said.
Phillips was disappointed that it took until Sunday afternoon for the company to send her an email explaining the problem. She still cannot make the transfer she needs to her account.
“As a customer, I went to a credit union because I was having a lot of trouble with traditional banks, but now that I’m having trouble with Patelco (Credit Union), I’m considering going to a big bank, I just don’t know which one I want to go to,” Phillips said.
Many credit union users took to social media to express their concerns. Some said it could potentially impact their wages, rent and mortgage payments, and they needed access to their money.
“(I’m) hoping tomorrow will be payday, but right now I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get there or see if it happens,” said Mike Corpos of San Carlos.
Corpos, who said he has had an account with Patelco for nearly a decade, said he hopes his money is still in his account.
“I think that’s a concern for a lot of people. Looking at the Twitter feed, they wonder: “Is our money safe? “, Corpos continued.
Brian Samoulides of Walnut Creek told NBC Bay Area he was worried about whether his mortgage payment would be made.
“There was no communication until this afternoon when the CEO sent this very evasive email,” Samoulides said. “Tomorrow morning I have to call my mortgage company and ask them for other ways to pay them.”
Netizens expressed concern and called on the credit union to be more transparent about what is happening. Some users said they feared Patelco’s systems had been hacked.
“It would be nice to have more transparency. If you are the victim of a cyberattack, just say so,” Samoulides said.
Brendan Bartholomew, a Patelco customer in Pacifica, said, “It’s a little nerve-wracking not being able to check and make sure the payments have been made.”
“This is really an example of the vulnerability of our infrastructure,” he continued.
Patelco said around 8:20 p.m. Sunday that it was “still working to resolve the outage.”
Additionally, it informed its customers that representatives will be available to answer questions during normal business hours but will not be able to provide specific account information.
“Currently, electronic transactions such as transfers, payments, balance inquiries and payments are not available,” Patelco said on X. “Patelco branches, call center and live chat will be open and ready to help as much as they can during our regular business hours starting tomorrow, Monday July 1st We are expecting longer than normal wait times and really appreciate your patience.
Ahmed Banafa, a San Jose State engineering professor whose research focuses on cybersecurity, said it was significant that the company identified what happened as a “serious security incident” and that online systems remained unavailable.
“That tells me that someone is actually inside their network and has crippled their capabilities,” Banafa said.
“What (Patelco) has done is like unplugging – it’s like unplugging the computer – they’re unplugging the network and trying to figure out how to manage this,” he continued.
Banafa said the extent of the damage to Patelco from the incident should become clearer in the coming days. In the meantime, he advised customers to “monitor all their financial activities and change their passwords.”
The credit union currently manages $9 billion in assets and is considered one of the oldest and largest in the state, according to the company.