Special Notices
Debit Card Fraud Alert
You may have received a text message and/or voice message asking you to verify recent charges. This is a legitimate request from our card fraud department. We have identified a small portion of member debit cards that were victims of fraudulent activity. This was not a breach of Heritage Family Credit Union’s security, and we are aware other Financial Institutions have been impacted by similar criminal activity. All impacted cards have been identified and disabled. New debit cards will be expedited to impacted members, and you will need to update any reoccurring payments with your new card number when its received.
All impacted members will be contacted. However, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 888.252.8932.
President's Message
March 13, 2023
You may have heard in recent news reports about SVB (Silicon Valley Bank) in California being shuttered this past weekend when depositors rushed to withdraw their funds all at once. In addition, a second bank, New York-based Signature Bank has also been forced to shut its doors.
I just wanted to take a minute to remind everyone that these closures are of very specialized banks that were heavily invested in the tech industry/crypto currency and should in no way affect Heritage Family Credit Union or our members. The Credit Union is very well capitalized, well diversified in our investment strategy, and in excellent financial shape. In fact, our Federal regulators, the NCUA, visited the Credit Union for an examination within the last 6 months and gave us a glowing review.
Your deposits are not in any danger whatsoever. As a reminder, all Federal Credit Union deposits, up to $250,000 per share account, are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
Also, please know the Credit Union management team continues to monitor the economy and will react appropriately and quickly to ensure that we continue to stay financially strong for many years to come. If you have questions regarding this turn of events, please feel free to contact us at 888.252.8932 or by emailing me directly at mattl@hfcuvt.com.
Just another reason that it’s good to be a Credit Union member!
Deposit Insurance
All deposits at Heritage Family Credit Union are federally insured to at least $250,000 by the National Credit Union Administration. Certain accounts, such as IRA’s and Keoghs, are insured separately up to $250,000. Copies of the NCUA brochure “Your Insured Funds” are available at each branch office and main office of the credit union and are also available upon request.
Learn more about HFCU Membership Benefits.
President's Message
February 25, 2023
As part of our continuing efforts to protect our member’s confidential information, we have recently changed our process for identity verification when you visit a branch in person. You will now be asked to provide a government issued ID card when you visit a teller or utilize the drive thru.
Fraud is becoming more prevalent and continues to be one of my major concerns in protecting you and your money. Identity theft and account takeover cost our members thousands of dollars every year, and with more and more information available for the criminals to steal, both online and offline, we need to continue evolving our standards of identifying our members to ensure your money stays safe.
In the past you may have been asked to provide your social security number or other identifiable information out loud in a busy lobby. Moving forward, you will be asked to present an acceptable form of personal identification. Acceptable forms of identification may include a state issued driver’s license, a non-driver identification card, a passport, resident alien card or a military ID, most preferably with a picture.
In addition to this new procedure, there are a few other options you can add to your account, which would provide another layer of security. You can also have a “code word” added to your account that would need to be verified after you provide a photo ID. If you currently have an existing code word on your account, it remains in effect. Also, our Premier Checking Accounts offer identity theft protection, on both financial and non-financial information, giving you peace of mind that your personal identifiable information is constantly being monitored. Very similar to the more expensive LifeLock option, we offer this IDProtect service to our members as part of your Premier Checking Account for $3.95 per month. Just a fraction of the price of LifeLock.
We know that change takes a little bit of extra effort on everyone’s part and we appreciate your understanding as we all get used to this new process designed to better protect our members and their money. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact me personally at mattl@hfcuvt.com or by calling 888.252.8932.
Thank you for your membership, we look forward to continuing to serve you and your family’s financial needs for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Matt Levandowski
President/CEO
Fraud Notice
HFCU would like to remind you of some best practices to help protect you and your money. It's easy to become the victim of ID theft. Here are some tips about how you can protect yourself from fraud.
1. Remember to utilize and activate IDProtect if you have Premier Checking.
2. If you don't have Premier Checking with IDProtect, sign up today!
3. If you feel your information has been compromised, log out of all devices and maunally change your account passwords.
4. Do not click on links in any unsolicited emails - especially an email that asks you to change private information. Each time you need to update an account, always manually type in the website address yourself before changing your password.
5. Do not give out your username, password, debit or credit card number over the phone, unless you initiated the call and are absolutely positive you are speaking to a known person. ID thieves have been known to impersonate relatives to steal important information and money.
6. Set alerts on eBranch and other sites to notify you if anyone changes your password.
7. Be careful what you share on your social media accounts including mother’s maiden name, full birthdate, etc. as these are often tools used to identify your personal information.
8. Don’t share passwords or pin numbers, and don’t use common choices like your children or pets’ names.
9. If you ever have a suspicious feeling from someone calling you, do not feel pressured to provide any information over the phone. If it’s a legitimate caller, they will understand if you want to take extra caution in providing personal information. Feel free to tell the caller you are going to hang up and call them at the phone number you know to be correct. Criminals can make it look as though they are calling from any phone number - even yours.
10. Only shop from trusted websites and make sure that your computer’s virus protection is up to date.
11. Check your statement frequently and verify all charges are accurate. If you notice something that does not belong to you, please contact the call center immediately at 888.252.8932 or visit your local branch.
12. When using an ATM machine, check for anything that looks suspicious about the machine, including parts that seem to have been added, are crooked, loose or seem to be in disrepair.
13. Protect your pin number. Never share your pin with others, and when entering your pin number, shield your finger strokes from prying eyes.