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May 5, 2023 |
Board of Directors announcements PenFinancial Credit Union has today announced the following changes to its Board of Directors. Reg Sonnenberg has retired from the PenFinancial Board of Directors. |
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April 20, 2023 |
Mother Earth Day Returns for 2023, Presented by PenFinancial Credit Union Mother Earth Day, presented by PenFinancial Credit Union and hosted by the Park in the City Committee, returns to Firemen's Park on Saturday, May 13, from 10 am until 4 pm (rain or shine). |
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April 17, 2023 |
Changes to PenFinancial Credit Union’s Board of Directors Following another successful virtual AGM and Board Director vote, several changes have been announced for the PenFinancial Credit Union Board of Directors, including the appointment of Sandy Henderson as Board Chair. |
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January 24, 2023 |
As you may be aware, over the past week, PenFinancial was subjected to a “brute force” attack whereby fraudsters attempted to gain access to Online Banking accounts by targeting accounts with weak passwords. Our security systems acted as expected by alerting us to unusual activity and then automatically locking any Online Banking accounts after multiple failed attempts to guess passwords. While it may not seem it, this is very positive as it protected accounts against losses, and reinforces that the vast majority of our members had selected secure passwords. When we became aware of the incident, we took immediate action to protect and monitor member accounts. We also launched an internal investigation and engaged external experts to help assess the situation. We can confirm that only a very limited number of accounts were compromised and we immediately began to work directly with those members impacted; as well as alerting the relevant authorities. We also posted an update on the home page of PenFinancial.com and updated all frontline staff and will continue to follow up with impacted members as appropriate. Unfortunately, these fraudulent access attempts resulted in a large number of member accounts being locked by our security system. This has required members to either visit a branch, or call our Contact Centre to be reset. We understand this is frustrating, however it was a necessary step to prevent fraudulent activity on these accounts. Understandably, as part of this process we need to ensure the identity of each member before we can reset the accounts, or we simply re-open the door to the fraudsters. This has resulted in longer than usual wait times in branch and over the phone. We appreciate that your time is valuable and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to you. These types of attacks are not unique to PenFinancial, and fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated in their attempts. We take your privacy and protection very seriously as we know it is the foundation of our relationship with you. We want to assure you that we have industry standard protections in place for online banking and that as soon as we became aware of the incident we took swift and aggressive action to rectify the situation and completed a thorough investigation. We are also taking steps to prevent such an incident from happening again. It is always important to remain vigilant. Please see our Digital Banking Tips page for more security tips about online banking and remember to be suspicious about unusual activity – if you receive an e-mail or call from PenFinancial, please ensure it is an authentic request – you can reach out to our Contact Centre at 1-866-866-6641 if you have any questions about the authenticity of a request I would like to personally thank all of our members for their patience during this time. I recognize that this has been an incredibly frustrating situation for all involved, but it has shown us that the security systems we already have in place have been incredibly effective, and also that there is more that we can do proactively Thank you for your patience and cooperation. Please contact our Contact Centre at 1-866-866-6641 if you have any questions. Theresa Bird |
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January 17, 2023 UPDATE Jan 18 |
Security Alert – updates UPDATES: If you recently reset your Online Banking password (PAC) Here are some tips to ensure that your old password isn’t automatically being entered and inadvertently locking you out again. We have heard from some members where these factors have been the root cause of their Online Banking account being locked a second time.
In the short term, you will also be asked your security challenges on each login to ensure the security of your account – even if you select “Register this computer”. ---- On January 11, 2023, we communicated that our security systems identified attempts to gain access to member accounts through Online Banking, targeting accounts with weak passwords. Unfortunately, these types of attacks are becoming increasingly common-place, affecting not only financial institutions, but also other companies and organizations that hold personal data criminals look to access. We are continuing our investigation and can confirm that only a limited number of members have been impacted and that the security protocols we have in place performed as expected and automatically locked accounts after multiple failed attempts to guess passwords. We have been in contact with those members who have been affected and we have also reported this incident to the authorities. The intention of these criminals is to gain access to funds and subsequently transfer the funds elsewhere through a variety of means, such as Interac Online Payments, setting up new Interac e-Transfer recipients to transfer money by email, or setting up new bill payees through Online Banking. In an abundance of caution, we have temporarily disabled some of these features for some members while we complete our investigations. What can you do to improve the security of your Online Banking?
If you need assistance with Online Banking
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and assure you that we take the security of our banking systems very seriously. We continue to work with our technology partners to constantly update our systems, and introduce additional security enhancements for our members. |
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January 11, 2023 |
Security Alert We have been alerted to fraudulent attempts to gain unauthorized access to some member accounts through Online Banking. As a result of the safeguards already in place to ensure our systems are secure, multiple failed login attempts against a member account have resulted in these accounts being automatically locked to protect them from unauthorized access. While we recognize that this is an inconvenience to our members, these protocols have been effective at preventing significant losses. If your Online Banking account has been locked, you may call our Contact Centre at 1-866-866-6641 for assistance. View our Contact Centre hours here. For an added layer of protection, we have also implemented additional temporary safeguards, including requiring you to answer the security questions you selected at the time of setting up your Online Banking access each time you login, and disabling the ability to add new bill payees and Interac e-Transfer recipients through Online Banking. These attacks specifically target accounts with weak passwords, and as per previous communications, we remind all members to ensure they are using a strong password with a mix of uppercase letters, lower case letters and numbers; and to use a password that is unique to Online Banking. Unfortunately, these types of attacks are becoming increasingly common-place, affecting not only financial institutions, but also other companies and organizations that hold personal data criminals look to access. For additional ways you can help ensure your Online Banking is secure, view our Digital Banking How-to guides for more tips. |
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September 28, 2022 |
PenFinancial Credit Union donates to the Hurricane Fiona Relief Fund Hurricane Fiona has caused untold damage along the Atlantic Coast, affecting families and communities with torrential rain and flooding that has destroyed homes and businesses. To help support the recovery efforts, PenFinancial Credit Union has made a $5,000 donation to the Hurricane Fiona in Canada Appeal. Through this donation, the Canadian Red Cross will be able to provide emergency relief, humanitarian aid, and support recovery and resilience for those impacted by this disaster. |
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August 3, 2022 |
PenFinancial Credit Union welcomes Theresa Bird as new Chief Executive Officer
PenFinancial Credit Union is pleased to announce Theresa Bird as the credit union’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective September 12, 2022. Joining PenFinancial as Chief Retail Officer in January 2021, then becoming its Chief Operating Officer, Theresa comes to the role with nearly 40 years of experience in the financial services sector – experience that has shaped her belief that financial service to members and the community can and should be a rewarding and valuable experience, for staff and members alike. Theresa will succeed outgoing CEO Ken Janzen, who will officially retire September 30. |
