NCUA Media Release

Fraud Alert-Update

August 28, 2009, Alexandria, Va. – The National Credit Union Administration has obtained additional information about the situation initially described in NCUA's August 25, 2009 Fraud Alert.

As part of an an internal "system penetration" test, a credit union created a facsimile of an NCUA Fraud Alert. This was an unauthorized and improper use of the NCUA logo, and also included a falsified signature of then-Chairman Michael Fryzel. The bogus alert was forwarded to NCUA, prompting the issuance of the August 25 Fraud Alert. The false Fraud Alert appears to be confined to that credit union, and is not wide-spread.

Credit unions are not authorized to create facsimile documents bearing NCUA logos or signatures, or to improperly represent communications from NCUA, even during the legitimate conduct of business such as a computer security assessment.

NCUA takes any type of security breach very seriously. We also place a high priority on making federally insured credit unions aware of any illegal, fraudulent or deceptive activities that are frequently aimed at financial institutions. NCUA vigilance in this important area will continue, as will our efforts to make certain that credit unions take all proper precautions to protect sensitive member information and maintain financial security.

The National Credit Union Administration is the independent federal agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), insuring the savings of more than 90 million members in all federal credit unions and many state-chartered credit unions. NCUA operations are funded by credit unions, not tax dollars.

- NCUA -