Security Service Federal Credit Union (SSFCU) — headquartered right here in San Antonio — is bound by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E, exactly like a national bank. If SSFCU denied your claim for an unauthorized electronic transfer, that decision may violate federal law. Clanton Law Office is a San Antonio consumer-protection firm that represents members against their own credit union.

San Antonio’s credit union, held to a federal standard

Security Service is headquartered in San Antonio, serves roughly 750,000 members, and holds about $14 billion in assets — one of the largest credit unions in the country. Under Regulation E (12 C.F.R. § 1005), SSFCU has the same obligation as any bank to investigate and reimburse unauthorized electronic fund transfers.

When an SSFCU denial is worth a second look

Reach out if Security Service:

• Blamed your “negligence” or assumed you shared your card or credentials
• Closed the claim without telling you what it found
• Would not hand over the documents behind the denial
• Implied Regulation E doesn’t apply to a credit union
• Held you responsible for a transfer you never authorized

Did a scammer get into your Security Service account and have you “approve” a transfer?

We are hearing from a growing number of SSFCU members caught by the same scheme:

1. A fraudster already had access to the Security Service account.
2. Posing as SSFCU’s fraud department, the scammer called or texted the member about “suspicious activity.”
3. The member was pressured to read back a verification code or approve a prompt to “stop” the fraud.
4. That code or approval let the intruder move the money out — often by Zelle, card, or online transfer.
5. When the member reported it, SSFCU denied the claim, saying the member “authorized” or “approved” the transaction.

Here is the distinction that decides these cases: if the intruder initiated the transfer and you only responded to a prompt the scammer triggered, the payment was initiated by someone other than you. That is the core of an unauthorizedtransfer under Regulation E — it is not the same as choosing to send money yourself. A credit union that denies this kind of claim by pointing to a code you were tricked into repeating may be misreading the law.

This is different from a scam where you were persuaded to send a payment yourself; those induced-payment facts are harder and often fall outside Regulation E. The facts control — tell us exactly what happened.

Where Security Service denials go wrong

A denial letter that says any of the following deserves a second look:

• “You were negligent.” Regulation E does not let a financial institution deny an unauthorized-transfer claim because it decides the member was careless.
• “You approved it.” If a scammer initiated the transfer and you only responded to a prompt, the transaction may still be unauthorized.
• “Our records show it was authorized” — with no documents attached. You are entitled to the basis of a denial; a conclusory denial is a red flag that the investigation was inadequate.
• “Credit unions aren’t covered by that rule.” They are. Regulation E’s definition of “financial institution” expressly includes credit unions, and the NCUA supervises federal credit unions for compliance.

What Regulation E requires of Security Service

• 10-business-day investigation, or a provisional credit and up to 45 days to finish (12 C.F.R. § 1005.11).
• Liability capped at $50 if you report a lost or stolen device within two business days — generally $0 if you report an unauthorized statement transfer within 60 days (12 C.F.R. § 1005.6).
• No negligence-based denials, and no membership-agreement term that imposes more liability than Regulation E allows.

Unauthorized vs. authorized. Regulation E protects transfers made without your authorization; money you were tricked into sending yourself is often outside the rule. The facts control. Understand the difference »

What you can recover

If SSFCU denied a valid unauthorized-transfer claim without a reasonable investigation, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act allows actual damages, statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, and court costs plus reasonable attorney’s fees (15 U.S.C. § 1693m). Fee-shifting means you generally pay no attorney’s fees out of pocket to enforce your rights.

Frequently asked questions

Is Security Service Federal Credit Union covered by Regulation E? Yes. Regulation E applies to credit unions the same as banks. SSFCU must follow the same error-resolution and reimbursement rules, with NCUA oversight for federal credit unions.

SSFCU denied my claim and said I was at fault. Is that proper? Generally not, if the transfer was unauthorized. Regulation E bars a credit union from denying a claim based on the member’s negligence, and it must investigate before denying.

A scammer got into my SSFCU account and had me approve a code — is that unauthorized? Likely yes. If the intruder initiated the transfer and you only responded to a verification prompt, the payment was initiated by someone other than you — the core of an unauthorized transfer under Regulation E. Being tricked into approving a code the scammer triggered is not the same as authorizing the payment yourself.

Can I sue Security Service over a denied fraud claim? If the transfer was unauthorized and denied without a reasonable investigation, you may have an Electronic Fund Transfer Act claim for your losses, statutory damages, and attorney’s fees.

Are you local to San Antonio? Yes. Clanton Law Office is in San Antonio — the same city as Security Service’s headquarters — and represents Texas consumers in credit-union fraud disputes.

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Talk to a San Antonio consumer lawyer about your Security Service denial. Schedule a free case review » · Credit Union EFTA overview »

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