The $5.8 billion Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union has alerted members that thousands of their Visa check cards were recently breached.

In a message on its Web site, www.suncoastfcu.org, the Tampa, Fla.-based credit union said a hacker may have gained access to card information through one of multiple payment systems. The breach apparently affected thousands of financial institutions and millions of cardholders, Suncoast Schools said.

The credit union said it will reissue cards and personal identification numbers only to those members contained on the list of those compromised. Members were reminded that they are protected under Visa's zero-liability fraud policy should someone attempt fraudulent activity on their accounts.