California credit union hit with ransomware attack

Patelco Credit Union headquarters in Dublin, California, USA - June 12, 2023. Patelco Credit Union is a member owned, not-for-profit credit union.
The disruption stemmed from a ransomware attack starting Saturday against Patelco Credit Union. The credit union promised to cover late fees members incur because of the incident.
Adobe Stock

Patelco Credit Union in Dublin, California, said this week it suffered a ransomware attack starting June 29 that required the credit union to proactively shut down some day-to-day banking systems for its 500,000 members.

The credit union said it closed down online banking, the credit union's mobile app and its call center. Electronic transactions such as transfers (including Zelle), direct deposit, balance inquiries and payments are unavailable. Debit and credit card transactions work only in a limited capacity.

As of Wednesday, cash withdrawals and deposits were still available to members at Patelco ATMs and shared branch ATMs, according to CEO Erin Mendez. However, according to the credit union's member handbook from December, ATM withdrawals are limited to $500 per day.

Mendez also said that, while shared branch ATMs will not be interrupted, members may experience "short, intermittent outages" at Patelco ATMs. "This is normal and to be expected during our recovery process," she said in a post on the credit union's website.

"We don't take lightly how severely this has impacted our members," Mendez said. "We are committed to moving forward as quickly as we can. I personally thank you again for your patience. We will continue to provide more updates in the coming days and weeks."

Mendez said that, should members incur late fees because of the outage, the credit union will reimburse them for those fees. The credit union will also waive Patelco overdraft, late payment and ATM fees "until we are back up and running," according to Mendez.

"If any of our members have concerns about late payments impacting their credit score, we will write letters on your behalf," Mendez said.

This story is developing and will be updated.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Cyber attacks Cyber security Technology
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER