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CouponCabin cash back security "unnatural activity"

Personal Finance & Money Asked by user100196 on August 5, 2020

I wonder if someone/anyone can help me out with an issue that’s been increasing in recent months.

I’ve been using CouponCabin for almost 2 years (it’s another Ebates/Rakuten) without any payments issues, and I’m in their top 1% of users. I earn cashback, it’s directly paid into my account on the correct date, easy. Then I log in today and I immediately get a warning in red about "unnatural activity" (images below).

Our security system has detected what it considers unnatural activity
originating from your account and/or computer network. Per the
CouponCabin Terms & Conditions, your account is temporarily eligible
for check payments only

So they say they can’t tell me what the specific issue is, they want me to give them my mailing address so they can send me physical checks at the same rate as my usual cashbacks (which is more frequent; I sometimes might get 2 payments in a week, rather than once every 3 months, depending on purchasing volume), and they tell me that my account is in good standing, but they can’t say if/when my temporary cheque status will end. I mean sending physical checks via a slow postal service during a pandemic? Why?
My question is what level of risk could I be facing, and do I provide them with an address to accept checks? Is it shady that a company can just decide to do this, but not provide any meaningful information as to why?

TL:DR I’ve been reading a variety of reports from places like the Better Business Bureau (BBB and this has happened to other users. Apparently there are people whom have provided CC with their drivers license and utility bill (sometimes with personal info like purchases redacted), and CC has not accepted these documents and continue to point to their T&Cs. I’m based in CA, and I neither have a local license, or my name on any utility bills anyway. But you know I still pay rent at my home and file my taxes correctly lol.

Thanks in advance if anyone can provide some insight. Appreciate it! 🙂

Warning message
Another warning message

One Answer

Your mailing address is public information anyway, so if that's all they want and that's all you give, I don't think you're putting yourself at any undue risk of scams. Especially considering you already have an established (and hitherto profitable) relationship with the company.

Whether you want to do it or not, especially in our current global situation where even leaving the house regularly to check for mail could be considered "risky," is a personal choice for you to make.

The fact that they're telling you that your account status has been flagged but refusing to tell you why is a little odd, but not unheard of. Perhaps discussing the issue would involve revealing information about third parties involved in the "suspicious behaviour" which they would rather not discuss, for example. I'm sure it's frustrating, though. If it's frustrating enough to be a dealbreaker, perhaps you should consider whether you even want to keep doing business with this company, before you make your decision on sending them your mailing address.

Might be worth asking, if they won't tell you what went wrong so you can fix it, perhaps ask them if there's a timeline for when your account might be reinstated for direct deposit. Based on that answer, you can better formulate how willing you are to put up with this "mailing you cheques" business.

Answered by Steve-O on August 5, 2020

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