Alabama Credit Union: VISA cards blocked

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VISA ATM/Debit cards killed

Today (Sept. 6, 2005) was the deadline for members to contact us to get their compromised VISA ATM/Debit and VISA credit cards replaced. We will begin blocking and re-issuing the remaining cards today. If your card was compromised, we advised you that you would be receiving a replacement, and reqeusted that you provide us with updated contact information.

Unfortunately, we had no alternative but to begin deactivating these cards. VISA has notified us that cards compromised in the CardSystems data security breach case have begun having fraudulent transactions as a result. We have attempted to contact every member to prevent any inconvenience, as follows:

June 27: We mailed a letter to every account affected by this situation, approximately 1550 members
June 28: we began calling every member personally by telephone to let them know of the situation and make arrangements to replace the cards at their convenience
By August 25 we had attempted to call every member affected. Some members were left phone messages and some had incomplete or noncurrent contact information. Those whom we could not reach were attempted more than once in most cases.
On August 25 we mailed another letter to all accounts which were still unblocked. In that letter we notified the member again of the situation and asked them to contact us. We also notified them that if we had not heard from them by Sept. 6, we would begin blocking and reissuing all cards that were not yet blocked. We have heard from many members as a result, but still were forced to block about 400 calls without contact with the member.

We hope that we will have a minimal number of members adversely affected by this situation. If you have an immediate need for a VISA ATM/Debit card, we can instantly issue one to you from our credit union's main office in Tuscaloosa. If that happens, remember that a card is probably already in the mail to you -- and it normally takes 7 - 10 days to receive the cards in the mail. If you have other needs concerning your VISA ATM/Debit card or VISA credit card, please contact Benson Bolling at (205) 348-3880 or (888) 817-2002.

Your savings federally insured to at least $100,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. Your savings are additionally insured to $250,000 by Excess Share Insurance. To estimate your National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund coverage, use this insurance estimator or download NCUA's Your Insured Funds brochure. Alabama Credit Union does business in accordance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Federal Fair Housing Law. We are an Equal Housing Lender. Rates expressed as Annual Percentage Rate or Annual Percentage Yield; all rates and terms subject to change without notice. For complete account disclosures, ask for a copy of our Membership & Account Agreement, Reg CC (Funds Availability) and Reg E (Electronic Transfers) disclosures, Fee Schedule and Member Business Account™ Fee Schedule. Membership eligibility required. Alabama Credit Union is not responsible for content of Web sites which may be accessible via links from this site but are not operated by Alabama Credit Union, and does not represent either the third party or the member if the two enter into a transaction; privacy and security policies may differ from those practiced by Alabama Credit Union.