Platinum Federal Credit Union (PFCU) suffered a data breach after detecting suspicious activity in an employee’s email account on March 27, 2025. An unauthorized actor accessed the account, compromising personal information. A forensic investigation confirmed on September 17, 2025, that the breach exposed sensitive data, including names, Social Security numbers, and financial account details of potentially thousands of account holders. PFCU notified affected individuals via mail (starting September 24, 2025) and reported the incident to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office on September 30, 2025. The breach stemmed from a cyberattack targeting employee credentials, leading to the exfiltration of highly sensitive customer data. While the exact number of victims remains undisclosed, the exposed information poses significant risks of identity theft, financial fraud, and phishing attacks. In response, PFCU secured the compromised account, engaged third-party forensic experts, and offered free credit monitoring (Experian IdentityWorks) to affected individuals. The incident underscores vulnerabilities in email security and the potential for large-scale financial and reputational damage.
Source: https://www.claimdepot.com/data-breach/platinum-federal-credit-union-2025
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/platinum-federal-credit-union
"id": "pla3893638100225",
"linkid": "platinum-federal-credit-union",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "3/2025",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Thousands (exact number '
'undisclosed)',
'industry': 'Banking/Financial Services',
'name': 'Platinum Federal Credit Union (PFCU)',
'type': 'Financial Institution (Credit Union)'}],
'attack_vector': 'Compromised Employee Email Account',
'customer_advisories': ['Mail notifications sent to affected individuals '
'(2025-09-24)',
'Public disclosure via Massachusetts Attorney General '
'(2025-09-30)',
'Website information (https://www.platinumfcu.org)'],
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Likely (personal information accessed '
'by unauthorized actor)',
'personally_identifiable_information': ['Names',
'Social Security '
'Numbers'],
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (includes SSNs and financial '
'account details)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personally Identifiable '
'Information (PII)',
'Financial Data']},
'date_detected': '2025-03-27',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2025-09-24',
'description': 'Platinum Federal Credit Union (PFCU) experienced a data '
'breach after detecting suspicious activity in an employee '
'email account on March 27, 2025. An unauthorized actor gained '
'access, compromising personal information including names, '
'Social Security numbers, and financial account details. The '
'breach was disclosed to affected individuals and regulators '
'in September 2025, with PFCU offering free credit monitoring '
'services to victims.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential reputational damage due to '
'exposure of sensitive customer data',
'data_compromised': ['Names',
'Social Security Numbers',
'Financial Account Information'],
'identity_theft_risk': 'High (due to exposure of SSNs and '
'financial data)',
'payment_information_risk': 'High (financial account information '
'exposed)',
'systems_affected': ['Employee Email Account']},
'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'Employee Email Account',
'high_value_targets': ['Customer PII',
'Financial Account Data']},
'investigation_status': 'Completed (as of 2025-09-17, when exposure of '
'specific data types was confirmed)',
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': ['Secured compromised email '
'account',
'Engaged third-party '
'forensic investigation',
'Offered identity '
'protection services to '
'victims']},
'recommendations': ['Sign up for free credit monitoring/identity protection '
'services offered by PFCU',
'Monitor credit reports and financial accounts for '
'unusual activity',
'Be alert for phishing attempts leveraging exposed data',
'Consider placing fraud alerts or credit freezes with '
'major credit bureaus'],
'references': [{'source': 'Platinum Federal Credit Union Data Breach Notice'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Massachusetts '
'Attorney General '
'(disclosed '
'2025-09-30)',
'State/Federal '
'disclosures (as '
'required)']},
'response': {'communication_strategy': ['Mail notifications to affected '
'individuals (sent 2025-09-24)',
'Disclosure to Massachusetts Attorney '
'General (2025-09-30)',
'Dedicated helpline (833-931-8060)'],
'containment_measures': ['Secured compromised email account'],
'incident_response_plan_activated': True,
'recovery_measures': ['Offered free Experian IdentityWorks '
'credit monitoring and identity protection '
'services'],
'third_party_assistance': ['Forensic Investigation Firm']},
'stakeholder_advisories': ['Dedicated helpline (833-931-8060) for '
'members/employees with questions'],
'threat_actor': 'Unauthorized Actor (unknown specifics)',
'title': 'Platinum Federal Credit Union Data Breach via Compromised Employee '
'Email Account',
'type': 'Data Breach'}