MasterCard has notified law enforcement and banks that issue its cards of a possible data breach at a third-party payment processing company.
Mastercard issued the following statement regarding the breach: "MasterCard is currently investigating a potential account data compromise event of a U.S.-based entity and, as a result, we have alerted payment card issuers regarding certain MasterCard accounts that are potentially at risk. Law enforcement has been notified of this matter and the incident is currently the subject of an ongoing forensic review by an independent data security organization."
Since MasterCard does not actually issue cards, but only processes transactions, MasterCard has instructed those who believe their account may have been compromised to contact the bank that issued their card.
What should you do if you’ve been a victim of bank card or cheque fraud?
- Immediately report lost or stolen cards or suspected fraudulent use of your card to your card company. You should also report lost or stolen cheque books or any missing cheques. Banks and companies have 24-hour emergency numbers printed on account statements.
- Report the offence to the relevant bank or card company, which will then be responsible for reporting the matter to the police. If the theft of your cards or cheques involved another crime – for example, if your bag was also stolen – you should make sure it is reported to the police.
- If a fraudulent account has been set up in your name and you don’t have a relationship with that bank or card company, you can report the fraud directly to Action Fraud.
- Remember to keep a record of all communications.
- Get a copy of your personal credit report from one of the credit reference agencies:
- Consider contacting CIFAS – the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service to apply for protective registration. Once you have registered, CIFAS members will carry out extra checks whenever anyone applies for a financial service using your name and address.
For more details on your card visit: Mastercard or Visa.
Please note that Action Fraud is not responsible for the content of external websites.
To report a fraud, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
