Notices

Holiday Schedule 2008

New Year's Day	Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day	Monday, January 21, 2008
Memorial Day	Monday, May 26, 2008
Independence Day	Friday, July 4, 2008
Labor Day	Monday, September 1, 2008
Veterans' Day	Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Thanksgiving Day	Thursday, November 27, 2008
Day After Thanksgiving	Friday, November 28, 2008
Christmas Eve	Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Day	Thursday, December 25, 2008

Your Credit Union Accounts Are Safe and Insured

Credit Unions remain a safe harbor for your savings and other accounts, despite economic woes, including recent bank failures. Thanks to federal insurance, members' shares are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. There's no better time to be a credit union member. Virtually all credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), which insures savings of at least up to $100,000 per account. Certain retirement accounts such as IRAs and Keoghs benefit from additional coverage of up to $250,000. Emerald Coast Federal Credit Union is one of the credit unions insured by the NCUSIF. So rest assured, your shares are safe and insured. NCUSIF's equity-to-insured deposits are estimated at a strong 1.24% as of June 30, 2008, and projected to increase to 1.28% by year-end, according to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

Credit unions are nationally recognized for having steered clear of the subprime mortgage mess by lending responsibly and holding more of their mortgage loans - roughly 70% - in their portfolios instead of selling them on the secondary market to beleaguered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Also, credit unions have a better capital-to-asset ratio - 11.1% - compared with 10% for banks.

What does share insurance coverage mean for you?

If you have more than one single-ownership account in the same credit union, all those account balances are added together and insured in the aggregate, to the maximum of $100,000.
If you have a joint account at the same credit union, that account is insured separately from your individual account up to the $100,000 level, provided each of you has personally signed an account signature card and each of you has a right of withdrawal on the same basis. Each individual's interests in all jointly held accounts are added together and insured up to $100,000.
If you have accounts at more than one insured credit union, you have coverage up to the full insurable amount in each credit union. If your credit union has one or more branches, the main office and all branch offices are considered as one credit union.
If you have a revocable trust account, such as payable-on-death, living trust, or testamentary account, insurance coverage for each account is up to $100,000 per owner for each qualified beneficiary. And...
While IRAs and Keogh accounts are insured separately from nonretirement funds, with each type insured up to $250,000, funds in traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs are added together and insured in the aggregate up to $250,000. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts are treated as irrevocable trust accounts and added in with your other irrevocable trust account funds insured separately up to $100,000.

Bottom line: Depending on how your accounts are established, funds in a federally insured credit union can be insured to a level much higher than $100,000. For more information about the specifics of your insurance coverage, visit with the professionals at the credit union.

Don't Get Hooked by Internet Phishing

Hundreds of consumers are finding themselves the victims of a high-tech scam known as "phishing." It involves fraudsters who hide behind the anonymity of the Internet and pretend to be a legitimate financial institution or credit card company. The fraudsters send out "official-looking" e-mails designed to trick consumers into divulging financial and personal information such as account numbers, passwords, user names, Social Security numbers, and other sensitive data. Most of the e-mail messages claim there is an account problem or warn of a possible account fraud threat. In many cases, the e-mail also includes a link to a fake website that has been set up to mimic the legitimate online business. Either way - the whole idea is to convince the consumer there is an immediate need to update their financial information. Many of those who receive spammed e-mail do not have accounts or customer relationships with the legitimate business that the e-mails purport to come from. This is because the fraudsters who sent them most likely used a "spamming" (mass e-mailing) techinique to reach thousands of people. They are counting on the fact that some e-mail recipients will have an account relationship with the legitimate company, and that they will believe the e-mail has come from a trusted source.

Consumers who respond to phishing e-mails and turn over the requested information may be putting their accounts and financial status at risk in the following ways:

Phishing fraudsters can use the e-mail data received from a recipient to access existing bankcard accounts to withdraw money or buy expensive merchandise or services.
They can also use the date to open a new bank account or credit card accounts in the victims' names and use the new account to buy merchandise or get a cash advance.
In addition, a phishing scheme can involve the use of computer viruses and worms to disseminate the phishing e-mails to still more people.

To protect from phishing please take the following precautions:

Treat unsolicited e-mail requests for financial or personal information with suspicion. Do not reply to the unsolicited e-mail or respond by clicking on a link within the unsolicited e-mail message.
Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the e-mail to verify if it is genuine. Visit a Web site or call a phone number that you know to be legitimate.
Look for the lock. Prior to entering account information an any Web site, be sure to look for the "locked padlock" in the browser or "https" at the beginning of the Web site address to make sure the site is secure.
Be cautious. Check your monthly statements to verify all transactions. Notify your financial institution immediately of any erroneous or suspicious transactions.

Can You Spot A Scam?

Test your marketplace savvy. Take the Grand Scam Challenge at www.consumer.gov/ncpw to see if you can tell the difference between fact and fiction. Then click on popular links about how to build a better credit report, get credit, prevent identity theft, spot miracle health claims, and handle telemarketing calls.

We May Be Calling You

To protect your account, we monitor your ATM and debit card transactions for potentially fraudulent activity which may include a sudden change in locale (such as when a U.S.-issued card is used unexpectedly overseas), a sudden string of costly purchases, or any pattern associated with new fraud trends around the world.

If we suspect fraudulent ATM or debit card use, we'll be calling you to validate the legitimacy of your transactions. Your participation in responding to our call is critical to prevent potential risk and avoid restrictions we may place on the use of your card.

Our automated call will ask you to verify recent transaction activity on your card.
You'll be able to respond via your touchtone keypad.
You'll also be provided with a toll-free number to call should you have additional questions.

Our goal, quite simply, is to minimize your exposure to risk and the impact of any fraud. To ensure we can continue to reach you whenever potential fraud is detected, please keep us informed of your correct phone number and address at all times.

In the meantime, please be diligent in monitoring transaction activity on your account and contact us immediately if you identify any fraudulent transactions. Here are some additional tips on protecting yourself from debit card fraud:

Protect Yourself! Unless absolutely required for a legitimate business purpose, avoid giving out your: address and ZIP code, phone number, date of birth, Social Security number, card or account number or card expiration date. Your PIN is private; never give it out!
At stores and at ATMs, always cover your card and PIN, and watch for: Cell phone cameras, mirrors, or other tools used to view cards and PINs; people watching your transactions; cashiers taking your card out of sight (take it to the register yourself); any unusual activity at ATMs (if you feel uncomfortable, go to another ATM).
Online, you should never respond to unsolicited emails that: Ask you to verifiy your card or account number (such emails are not sent by legitimate businesses) or that link to websites; such sites can look legitimate but may collect data or put spyware on your computer.

For any questions concerning your debit or ATM activity, please contact Nancy Wigsten, Debit Card Administrator at (850) 227-1156 or toll-free at 1-877-874-0007.