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Blaze Credit Union in Minnesota experienced a vendor-related data breach affecting about 235,000 member accounts after hackers accessed data held by a third‑party marketing firm, Marquis Software Solutions. Exposed information includes highly sensitive personal data such as names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.
What happened
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Suspicious activity was first detected on Marquis’ systems on August 14, 2025, leading to an internal cybersecurity investigation.
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The investigation later confirmed that Blaze member data stored by Marquis had been accessed and copied by unauthorized actors.
Who is affected
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Approximately 235,000 active Blaze Credit Union member accounts may have been exposed in the incident.
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Blaze is Minnesota’s fourth‑largest federally insured credit union, with more than 252,000 members and around $4.5 billion in assets.
What data was exposed
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Compromised data includes member names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.
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The breach did not result from a direct compromise of Blaze’s own core systems, but from the third‑party vendor that provides marketing services to Blaze and hundreds of other financial institutions nationwide.
Notifications and remedies
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Marquis initially told Blaze in mid‑August that member data appeared safe, but after completing its investigation in late October it confirmed Blaze data was compromised.
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Blaze began mailing breach notices on December 5, 2025, and is offering affected members 12 months of credit monitoring and identity theft protection with up to $1 million in coverage.
If you might be a Blaze member
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Watch for a mailed notification letter from Blaze or Marquis; it will explain whether your information was involved and how to enroll in free monitoring.
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In the meantime, consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with major credit bureaus and monitor account statements and credit reports closely for unfamiliar activity.
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