By By JESSICA SIEFF / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Residents of the Niles-Buchanan area may want to keep a careful eye on their bank accounts for a little while.
In the aftermath stemming from a computer systems breach at First Source leaving the debit cards and accounts of members and non-members vulnerable, several reports have surfaced of unauthorized withdrawals originating overseas.
James Seitz, senior vice president of consumer and electronic banking with First Source Bank said that suspect transactions seem to be coming from countries including the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Nigeria, Spain and Turkey.
A bulk of reports has come out of the Michiana area, primarily south of the state line. But some reports have hit a little closer to home. "We have had a few of our members, that have been affected by that situation," said Shari Weber, deposit and card services product manager at United Federal and Nada Kramp, coordinator of card services.
The credit union operates seven branches within Berrien County, but Weber said that those in the southern portion of the county were more susceptible due to their location being so close to the affected area.
The breach which occurred in early May, said Seitz, affected the server which kept the bank's ATM information. First Source Bank customers received new debit cards after the breach but Seitz says that anyone, including non-members, who used any of the institution's ATM machines could have been affected.
A "handful" of numbers found on the machines, as possibly affected, were given to officials at United Federal. Weber and Kramp said that those members were notified whether or not any money had been transferred or taken from their accounts without authorization. Those on the list were being notified and given new cards.
Seitz was unaware of any specific reports out of the Niles area as of Thursday afternoon. But he also said that any numbers that were found to have been run through the ATM machines, not belonging to First Source Bank customers, were forwarded to the official associations of those numbers i.e.: Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Those companies then forward the numbers on to local banks in order for banking officials to contact any members that may be at risk. That was done following discovery of the breach.
"Now, that's very time consuming," Seitz warned. "In the interim, these bad guys had started to use these cards overseas." Funds are being refunded to customers as immediately as possible, he added.
According to Seitz, most of the financial institutions affected have received their lists of possible victims. Kramp said that most of the issues found regarding their members were dealt with and "stopped" as of last Monday, when they received their lists. She added that funds for those members were returned within 48 hours.
Anyone concerned about their accounts should not hesitate to contact their local bank. People who worry they'll be bombarding their bank with calls, shouldn't.
At First Source Bank, Seitz said, "we have thousands of card holders so we're dealing with fraud on a daily basis. They're geared up for these things," and Weber says their members can call their member service center (888-982-1400) with questions or concerns.
Can people stop worrying? Kramp and Weber say, not necessarily. "On database compromises like this, no, the worry will not be over."
And being a conscious consumer seems to be the key, in protecting personal banking information. The breach at First Source Bank was, obviously, out of members' hands but there are still ways for people to keep their information and their money safe.
One way consumers can protect themselves, said Weber, is to use the credit option when swiping their debit cards during purchases. Using the credit function eliminates the need to enter a personal identification number, which could help potential hackers to acquire the information they're looking for.
In addition, Weber said that United Federal Credit Union is introducing a new identification theft protection program which basically monitors a member's account and generates an alert to that member if any suspicious activity is generated on their account.
A member's information is registered within the system. In the event that one's purse or wallet is stolen – a member would need to make just one call to United Federal Credit Union to have all of their cards blocked.
And of course … Weber, Kramp and Seitz all say consumers should actively monitor their accounts, either checking it online or running through each monthly bank statement to ensure no odd activity has taken place. "And if you notice anything unusual," said Seitz. "Call your bank."