MasterCard "Cash Points" Scam

Protecting Personal Information

Members, do not disclose personal or financial information over the phone or on the Internet.

Recently several MasterCard CHOICE REWARDS cardholders were contacted in an e-mail scam. In the e-mail, cardholders were informed of a non-existent program called “Cash Points” and were told to update their credit card account information to win 1,000 points.

These e-mails are fraudulent –delete this email and not click on the link in the message.

The e-mail directs people to a fraudulent version of the cucardsonline.com site, where they’re asked to enter information such as their social insurance number, mother’s maiden name, credit card number and CVC number (the security code found on the back of a credit card). DO NOT give personal information over the phone or Internet.

You can help protect yourself by remembering this important information:

• Unlike these phishing e-mails, CUETS (our MasterCard issuer) will never ask you to verify personal information in response to an e-mail
• Most fake communications convey a sense of urgency by threatening discontinued service
• Many fraudulent e-mails contain misspellings, incorrect grammar, and poor punctuation
• Links within the fake e-mail may appear valid, but deliver you to a fraudulent site
• Phishing e-mails often use generic salutations like “Dear Customer,” or “Dear Account Holder” instead of your name
• The address from which the e-mail was sent is often not one from the company it claims to be

Be suspicious! If you suspect that an email is not what it claims to be, please contact your branch to report it.