Frequently Asked Questions about MasterCard's announcement

Following is a set of Questions and Answers that can help with questions  resulting from MasterCard's announcement of the breach into CardSystems Solutions database.

Q.  What did MasterCard announce?
A.  MasterCard announced that a hacker was able to get access into a database at CardSystems Solutions, a large processor of payment transactions for merchants, and inserted some malicious computer code that could put at risk as many as 40 million payment cards of all brands.

Q.  Does that mean my MasterCard was stolen?
A.  About two-thirds of the cards potentially at risk are branded by companies other than MasterCard (such as Visa and American Express).  At this point MasterCard has detected fraud on 68,000 of the total cards involved.

Q.  What should I do to make sure my card was not involved?
A.  Look at the transactions made on your card since your last statement, and tell us whether or not you are concerned about any of these transactions.  You might also examine your most recent statement to look for anything unusual.  If you find something, let us know immediately.  What's important to remember is that MasterCard protects you against unauthorized charges on your account with its zero liability policy, so you are not liable for any charges on your account that you did not authorize.

Q.  Should I cancel my card?
A.  The first thing to know is that you are protected by MasterCard's zero liability policy, so you are not liable for any unauthorized transactions on your account.  Determine whether or not there are any transactions made against your account since your last statement that seem unusual to you.  If not, then we suggest you keep your current account.  We are monitoring all accounts that may have been at risk and will let you know if we believe your card should be canceled and re-issued with a different account number.  Our first concern is for customers, and we vigilantly monitor for fraud.

Q.  What else should I be worried about?
A.  MasterCard has a policy in the U. S. of zero liability, which means you have no liability for unauthorized transactions made on your account.

Q.  Who did this and how?
A.  There is an investigation underway by CardSystems Solutions and the FBI to determine that.

Q.  When did it happen?
A.  After several banks notified MasterCard of unusual patterns of transactions, MasterCard was able to trace the fraud back to CardSystems Solutions.  We performed forensic investigations and discovered the breach at CardSystems Solutions.

Q.  Were MasterCard Systems attacked?
A.  No.  The breach occurred at Card Systems Solutions, an organization that processes transactions for over 100,000 merchants.

Q.  Which merchants were involved?
A.  We do not yet have that information.  CardSystems Solutions know which of its merchant customers were involved.

Q.  Were these all U.S. cards?
A.  We do not yet know.  However, it is likely that most of the cards involved are issued in the U.S. because CardSystems Solutions is a U.S.-based organization.

Q.  Were identities stolen?
A.  The information at risk includes basic account information.  There were no addresses or Social Security numbers in the CardSystems Solutions database.

Q.  Who did this?  Have they been arrested?
A.  The FBI is investigating this crime, with help from the experts at MasterCard.