PHILADELPHIA — Franklin Mint FCU members have been unable to access some online banking services since the weekend as the credit union works to resolve a disruption affecting its website and mobile app.
The CU Daily first reported the outage here.
The credit union told WPVI member accounts have not been compromised and that its branches and telephone banking services remain available. However, its digital and web services remained unavailable as of Tuesday, WPVI reported.
A Franklin Mint spokesperson did not describe the incident as a cyberattack and said the credit union expects to release additional information, according to WPVI.
Error Messages Received
The disruption has affected the credit union’s mobile app, with members receiving error messages when attempting to use it, according to WPVI.
Some Franklin Mint web links also have been directing users to a GoDaddy.com page indicating the credit union’s domain is for sale. Records reviewed by WPVI indicate the domain appears to be under the control of an individual who may be based in Saudi Arabia.
The credit union has not identified a party responsible for the disruption or said whether the apparent change in control of its domain is connected to the outage.
Members Head to Branches
With digital services unavailable, some members have been visiting Franklin Mint branches to conduct transactions.
Taurena Williams of Philadelphia’s Overbrook neighborhood told WPVI she went to a branch after encountering problems online.
“It kept saying I had an error message. So, I came here to see what was going on,” Williams told WPVI.
Azad Toori of Broomall said he was unaware of the disruption when he arrived at the credit union’s Havertown branch Tuesday morning and said he generally does his banking in person.
“I am old-fashioned. I just come here and deposit checks. I don’t even have a debit card,” Toori told WPVI.
Franklin Mint operates more than a dozen branches in Pennsylvania and surrounding areas.
Advice for Members
The credit union is advising members to use its branches or telephone banking while it works to restore online services, according to WPVI. No timeline for restoring those services has been announced.
WPVI also reported that some members said on Facebook that they had been instructed to change their passwords before the disruption. Franklin Mint told WPVI it was not aware of those reports.
The cause of the disruption remains unclear. Franklin Mint has not said the outage resulted from a hack and has not identified anyone as responsible, according to WPVI.
One Response
As a member of the credit Union, the lack of information coming from them is disappointing.