Firestorm on Facebook creates a nightmare for credit union

An ugly situation with an Alabama credit union illustrates why having a social media policy signed by all employees is absolutely essential.

An employee of MAX Credit Union is accused of publishing Facebook posts that expose private banking dirt about one of the institution’s members.

Around March 12, posts allegedly written by the employee reportedly surfaced on a Facebook group called “Prattville-Millbrook Montgomery Black List” (no record of this group can be verified by The Financial Brand). The posts apparently reveal privileged and private financial information about a MAX Credit Union member, namely that the member had a negative balance and was incurring overdrafts. The posts, which had an air of vindictiveness, were signed with hashtags #perksofmynewjob and #iknoweveryonesdirt.

From media reports covering the story, it does not appear that ultra-sensitive information such as account numbers or social security numbers were divulged.

On Friday, March 13, a post on the MAX Facebook page accused one of the credit union’s employees of the alleged privacy breach, stating she had seen screenshots as evidence. It took a few days for the story to gain steam, but it caught fire with fuel from a local TV station.

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