In our continuing effort to keep members and processors current on
the types of fraud, skimming and phishing that occur within the industry,
we want to make you aware of an e-mail that is being sent to cardholders
of some STAR members using the name of "STAR" with a greeting line of
"Dear Valued STAR Member". The e-mail is sent under the guise of
protecting the cardholder’s account and reducing fraud. The e-mail requests
that the cardholder update his or her personal records to prevent future
problems with the online service. It also states that failure to perform
the update will result in account suspension. For your information, we
have provided the fraudulent e-mail notification below:
"Dear valued Star® member:
It has come to our attention that your Star® account information needs to
be updated as part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and
to reduce the instance of fraud on our website. If you could please take
5-10 minutes out of your online experience and update your personal records
you will not run into any future problems with the online service.
However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension.
Once you have updated your account records, your Star® session will not be
interrupted and will continue as normal.
To update your Star® records click on the following link:
http://www.star.com"
The above referenced e-mail is not connected with the STAR Network and is
being sent by unknown persons presumably for the sole purpose of phishing
cardholder information. If you receive cardholder questions regarding the
e-mail, please encourage your cardholder to not respond to it. If
cardholders do respond to this e-mail, they could be providing information
for making duplicate card plastics or assisting with other methods for the
intent of performing fraudulent transactions.
Available Educational Materials
The STAR Network provides low-cost statement inserts to help educate your
cardholders about phishing. To order online, please visit
www.STAR.com/toolkit. To learn
about additional ways you can help protect your cardholders, e-mail
marketing@STAR.com to request a
copy of the Phishing Prevention Resource Manual.
For Additional Information
If you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please call Member
Services at 877.866.7827.
