How to Protect Your Mail and Checks from Fraudsters

capeandcoastbk on March 21, 2024

2024 Check Washing and Check Theft Scams Infographic_v3Fraudsters are rapidly turning to “snail mail” for their latest scams. Since the pandemic, check fraud has increased nationwide by 385%, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Check fraud schemes commonly target the U.S. mail to steal checks, alter or wash them to change the payee and dollar amount, and ultimately steal money from victims’ accounts, according to the American Bankers Association.

To combat check washing and protect your mail and checks, you can take the following actions:

  • Get your mail promptly after delivery. Don’t leave it in your mailbox overnight.
  • If you’re heading out of town, ask the post office to hold your mail until you return.
  • Sign up for informed delivery at USPS.com. It sends you daily email notifications of incoming mail and packages.
  • Contact the sender if you don’t receive mail that you’re expecting.
  • Consider buying security envelopes to conceal the contents of your mail.
  • Use the letter slots inside your Post Office to send mail.

To protect your checks, bank customers can:

  • Use pens with indelible black ink so it is more difficult for a criminal to wash your checks.
  • Don’t leave blank spaces in the payee or amount lines.
  • Don’t write personal details, such as your Social Security number, credit card information, driver’s license number or phone number on checks.
  • Use mobile or online banking to access copies of your checks and ensure they are not altered. While logged in, review your bank activity and statements for errors.
  • If your bank provides an image of a paid check, review the back of the check to ensure the indorsement information is correct and matches the intended payee, since criminals will sometimes deposit your check unaltered.
  • Consider using e-check, ACH automatic payments and other electronic and/or mobile payments.
  • Follow up with payees to make sure that they received your check.

If you suspect you’ve been a victim of check fraud, you should file a report immediately with:

  • Your bank and request copies of all fraudulent checks.
  • Local police department.
  • U.S. Postal Inspection Service at https://www.uspis.gov/report or call 1-877-876-2455.

Cape & Coast Bank Launches Premium Debit Cards

capeandcoastbk on March 13, 2024

Introducing MyCapeRewards! The program that rewards you for using your debit card.Following the success of its MyCapeRewards program offering rewards to debit card users, Cape & Coast Bank is announcing the launch of a new series  of premium debit cards.

In addition to points earned on standard debit cards through the bank’s MyCapeRewards Program, account holders will now have the option to upgrade their debit card to a My Rewards®Gold, My Rewards® Platinum, or My Rewards® Business Platinum debit card. The upgrades not only maximize awards, but also to access premium benefits including cash back for online purchases, prescription savings, and even emergency roadside assistance.

Through the MyCapeRewards program at all levels, cardholders earn points for using their debit card on purchase transactions made with signature or PIN. Program participants can choose to redeem points right away or accrue a greater point balance and apply it toward larger gifts, including vacations.

Premium debit cards issued as part of the bank’s My Rewards program incur a monthly fee, however, they come with unprecedented benefits including the following:

  • The My Rewards® Gold Debit Card offers emergency roadside assistance, hotel & car rental discounts, prescription savings, extended warranty, cash back and bonus points for shopping online, and more.
  • The My Rewards® Platinum Debit Card offers the same rewards as Gold along with additional benefits like cell phone protection and buyers’ protection.

Detailed information for each card type can be found here: https://www.mycaperewards.com/cardbenefit.

“The new series of My Rewards® premium debit cards provides yet another way for us to provide value-added services and benefits to our personal and business banking customers,” says Barbara Smith, Chief Banking and Strategy Officer, Cape & Coast Bank. “We look forward to working with our valued customers to provide them with the debit card that best meets their financial needs, while providing them best-in-class rewards in appreciation for banking with us, the region’s true community bank.”

For more information on the MyCapeRewards program, click here.

Shanika Rogowski Re–Elected to Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association Board of Directors

capeandcoastbk on February 22, 2024

professional headshot of Shanika Rogowski, Senior Vice President and Chief Residential Lending OfficerShanika Rogowski, Senior Vice President and Chief Residential Lending Officer at Cape & Coast Bank, has been re–elected to the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association (MMBA) Board of Directors.

The MMBA is the largest mortgage association in New England, offering comprehensive services to more than 225 corporate members throughout the region.

“Shanika’s continued presence on the MMBA Board of Directors is testament to her knowledge of the residential lending market and expertise in providing customers with the best mortgage counsel and service to meet their unique needs,” said Lisa Oliver, Chair, President and CEO of Cape & Coast Bank. “We are proud of Shanika’s ongoing leadership role in this important statewide banking industry association.”

With three decades of banking experience at a large Fortune 500 financial institution and small- to mid-size community banks specializing in residential and consumer lending, Rogowski will be one of five women serving on the 19-member MMBA board.

“To continue to serve on The MMBA Board of Directors for a third year is a privilege and an honor,” said Rogowski. “I look forward to engaging and collaborating with other Massachusetts lending executives to develop and discuss best practices to better serve our residential lending customers.”

Rogowski, a resident of Mansfield, is also an active volunteer with community organizations and nonprofits, having worked with organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, Relay for Life and the Mass Bankers Women in Banking Advisory Board.

The Coop Foundation Awards $35,500 in Grants to Local Nonprofits

capeandcoastbk on January 29, 2024

Our Foundation has awarded grants to Cape Cod Brite Lights, Cape Cod Times Needy Fund, Champ Homes, Hyannis Public Library, Lower Cape Outreach Council and Outer Cape Health Services.Cape & Coast Bank Charitable Foundation Trust has awarded $35,500 in grants to local nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving the critical needs of the communities it serves. During the recent quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees, the following new grants were awarded:

  • $30,000 ($10,000 for three years) to Hyannis Public Library to be used toward the library’s $8.1 million renovation project to transform the more than one century old facility into a modern, versatile and essential public resource for the community. The renovation will provide accessibility for all, including visitors with low vision, the deaf and hard of hearing, English language learners and neurodivergent individuals. Also included in the project is the purchase and installation of new mobile furnishings and equipment, as well as significant technology and connectivity upgrades.
  • $7,500 to Cape Cod Times Needy Fund to support its Basic Needs for Vulnerable Residents (BNVR) program that provides financial assistance for basic human needs and tools and information such as in-depth resource and referral counseling to help households attain future sustainability. The program serves more than 4,000 of the Cape and Islands’ most vulnerable residents in need annually, helping to prevent homelessness, hunger and loss of utilities, transportation or childcare.
  • $5,000 to Champ Homes, a Hyannis-based organization that provides supportive, sober transitional housing to individuals over the age of 18 who are struggling with housing instability due to a variety of reasons, including the region’s severe housing crisis. The grant will support its Transitional Housing Assistance program, which addresses immediate concerns such as hot showers, clean towels, clothing and toiletries, an address for mail services and food. Additionally, participants work closely with a team of care coordinators to navigate continuing education, access healthcare, complete housing applications, obtain employment, and learn to advocate for themselves.
  • $5,000 to Lower Cape Outreach Council to support its nine emergency food pantries on the Lower and Outer Cape. The grant will help mitigate costs of providing clients with fresh produce, proteins and non-perishable products.
  • $3,000 to Cape Cod Brite Lights to help alleviate food insecurity and provide basic hygiene and feminine hygiene items to students in the Dennis-Yarmouth School District and Cape Cod Technical High School in Harwich. Founded in 2020 to provide weekend nutritional support to students in need, the program now serves more than 50 students and continues to grow.
  • $5,000 installment of five-year $25,000 grant award to Outer Cape Health Services to support the now completed renovation and expansion of its medical center in Harwich.

In addition, The Coop successfully nominated Good Grief Cape Cod for a $2,500 Massachusetts Bankers Association Community Grant Award. Good Grief Cape Cod is an organization that promotes positive change to how society responds to grief in children and young people by providing community engagement opportunities, sharing information and offering educational workshops with the goal of helping children and families cope with death.

“The beneficiaries of this quarter’s Coop Foundation grants are collectively making our communities better and more equitable places to live, work and thrive,” said Lisa Oliver, Chair, President and CEO, Cape & Coast Bank. “As a true community bank, we have a responsibility to support nonprofit organizations that are working tirelessly to help our neighbors affected by poverty, housing instability, food insecurity and inaccessibility to public spaces.”

Cape & Coast Bank Appoints Janet Kieran as Digital Experience Leader

capeandcoastbk on January 9, 2024

Janet KieranCape & Coast Bank has appointed Janet Kieran to the position of Digital Experience Leader.

Janet is an accomplished and innovative digital product management professional with more than two decades of experience in the financial services, health care and retail industries. She joins the Bank from Boston-based Reify Health Inc., where she served as Vice President of Digital Growth. She has also held senior digital project management roles at CVS Health, Staples Inc., Fidelity Investments and Fleet Bank.

In her new role, Janet is responsible for managing and implementing the digital strategy and leading the transformation of the Bank’s digital banking services to add value to clients. She will also play a critical role in enhancing the customer experience, coordinating digital transformation and innovation, and ensuring the bank maintains and builds upon its competitive edge in digital financial service offerings.

“Janet’s strong leadership, collaboration and analytical skills, combined with a deep and strategic understanding of digital banking technologies, will serve the Bank and our customers well,” said Lisa Oliver, Chair, President and CEO, Cape & Coast Bank. “We look forward to working with Janet as she accelerates the enhancement of our customer digital experience across our full suite of advanced financial product offerings.”

Janet holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Boston University, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University. She is also a dedicated community volunteer who has worked with several health and human services nonprofit organizations in the Greater Boston area.

“I look forward to joining Cape & Coast Bank, which has a unique local ownership model and strong commitment to investing in the community,” said Janet. “The opportunity to pair the Bank’s strong relationship banking model with digital tools and technologies to deliver the stellar, convenient banking experiences that our customers want and expect – whether online, using a mobile app, at a branch, or by phone – is particularly exciting. Pairing the knowledgeable and helpful employees with technology-driven continuous improvements will ensure that our customers can bank when they want, how they want and where they want.”

2023 Holiday Giving

capeandcoastbk on December 6, 2023

Dress a live Doll and Stuff A Bus

Pay It Forward

In 2023, our employees have raised about $26,000 through employee-managed #PayItForward Program to help 26 nonprofit organizations. For the past 13 years, our employees have supported local nonprofit organizations in our community by wearing jeans at work.

Every other Friday, employees donate a minimum of $5, and an organization is designated as the beneficiary. The organizations are nominated by employees and selected by the employee-based Pay It Forward committee. The only criteria for nominations is that the organization be affiliated with Cape Cod and a registered 501(c)3.

This holiday season, our employees worked in teams to use #PayItForward funds for the following holiday community programs:

Stuff A Stocking

A Baby Center is the beneficiary of our annual Stuff A Stocking program. Please consider helping local children and their families this holiday season by bringing donations of baby clothes and diapers, gift cards and feminine hygiene products to any of our branches. The unwrapped items can be dropped into the giant stockings located at each branch through Saturday, December 30th.

Learn More

Holiday Meal Deliveries Our team prepares to package and deliver holiday meals with the Mashpee Chamber of Commerce

The Mashpee Chamber of Commerce is proud to organize and deliver holiday dinners to home-bound and in-need Mashpee residents. This year, our sponsorship helped with the cost of the meals. Our team also joined in to help make the deliveries!

Meals On Wheels

For the past 10 years, the Bank has provided holiday cards to be distributed with the Meals on Wheels deliveries for seniors served by the Barnstable Senior Center. This year, our employees volunteered to be part of a little holiday magic by writing handwritten, personal messages in the cards. Our goal was 250 cards, but we hit 385 cards!

#GivingTuesday

We’re proud to continue our #GivingTuesday tradition of supporting local food pantries by donating $1,000 each to 10 different pantries across the Cape.

2023 Stuff A Stocking: Helping A Baby Center

capeandcoastbk on November 28, 2023

Toddlers in classHelp local children and their families this holiday season by bringing donations of baby clothes and diapers, gift cards and feminine hygiene products to any of our branches. The unwrapped items can be dropped into the giant stockings located at each branch through Saturday, December 30th.

 

This year’s Stuff A Stocking will benefit:

A Baby Center fills in the cracks where local or federal assistance is just not enough to provide baby essentials to parents of infants living  in poverty on Cape Cod and the Islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

 

Please consider donating any of the following suggested items: 

  • Size 6 diapers
  • $25 grocery gift cards for families
  • Feminine hygiene products
  • Layette items, newborn to 3 months:
    • Bodysuits or onesies
    • Baby jeggings or joggers
    • Pajamas
    • Rompers
    • Hats
    • Socks or booties
    • Receiving blankets

Monetary donations also can be made directly to A Baby Center online, as well.

Cape & Coast Bank Launches Debit Card Rewards Program

capeandcoastbk on November 13, 2023

Cape & Coast Bank has unveiled a new program that offers rewards to debit card users.

Through the MyCapeRewards program, cardholders can earn points for using their debit card on purchase transactions made with signature or PIN. Offering points for PIN-based purchases is unique for rewards programs.

“Consumers have discovered the ease and convenience of using debit cards for their daily lifestyle needs,” said Barbara Smith, Chief Banking and Strategy Officer for the Bank. “We’ve found that our program offers great rewards, and our clients are eligible for gifts with as few as 100 points.”

Clients of the Bank will receive an email alerting them that an account has been created for them or that points have been deposited into their account. They can choose to redeem their points right away or accrue their points and accumulate them toward a gift in a higher-point category. Multiple gifts are available in each point category, putting the gift choice directly into account holders’ hands.

MyCapeRewards also offers a platform to shop from favorite retailers to earn cash back on purchases. Clients can also choose to use their rewards for contributions for participating charities.

“Giving back to our customers and the communities we serve is of utmost importance at Cape & Coast Bank,” said Lisa Oliver, Chair, President and CEO. “Through the MyRewards program, our clients can earn points that can be redeemed for everything from small gifts and services to gift cards and vacations. As a true community bank, we are proud to offer this loyalty program to our customers throughout the region.”

For more information on the MyRewards program, click here.

Cape Cod Financial Services Appoints Kate DiMascolo as Investment Executive

capeandcoastbk on October 27, 2023

Kate DiMascoloKate DiMascolo has been appointed to the position of Investment Executive by Cape Cod Financial Services located at Cape & Coast Bank.

In this role, Kate will provide personalized investment and wealth management solutions to individuals and businesses.

Kate, a financial and wealth management professional with more than 10 years of experience, joins CCFS from Merrill Lynch, where she most recently served as a Financial Advisor.

“Kate’s financial planning and investment expertise, combined with a customer-centric approach, is a perfect fit for our clients,” said Lisa Oliver, Chair, President and CEO of Cape & Coast Bank. “We welcome Kate and look forward to the strong knowledge of financial planning, investment strategies and wealth management that she will offer our clients to build and sustain long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.”

Kate, of Sandwich, is actively involved in community affairs, including New England Donor Services, an organ donation advocacy group, and The Family Table Collaborative, a Cape-based profit dedicated to ending hunger and improving nutritional security in the region. She is a graduate of Salve Regina University.

“I welcome the opportunity to join an institution that is committed to the success of its customers and business clients and is a strong philanthropic partner to nonprofit organizations in the region,” said Kate. “I’m eager to meet clients to discuss ways in which we can maximize investment and portfolio performance to create growth-oriented financial strategies for a secure future.”

Investment and insurance products and services are offered through Osaic Institutions, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. Cape Cod Financial Services is a trade name of Cape & Coast Bank. Osaic Institutions and the Bank are not affiliated. Products and services made available through Osaic Institutions are not insured by the FDIC or any other agency of the United States and are not deposits or obligations of nor guaranteed or insured by any bank or bank affiliate. These products are subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of value. 

Cape & Coast Bank Charitable Foundation Trust Awards $41,500 in Grants

capeandcoastbk on October 12, 2023

Housing Assistance Corporation, Amplify POC, Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod, Good Grief Cape Cod, Friends Food Pantry and The Cordial Eye Are Beneficiaries for Second Quarter of FY2024Cape & Coast Bank Charitable Foundation Trust has awarded $41,500 in grants to local nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving the critical needs of the communities it serves.

During the recent quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees, the following new grants were awarded:

  • $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod to build two new three-bedroom affordable homes in the Town of Brewster. One of the homes will be designated in perpetuity for a qualifying U.S. veteran and their family to purchase. Funds from The Coop Foundation grant will help offset the cost of building materials and licensed contractor labor, which have increased significantly in recent years.
  • $4,000 to Good Grief Cape Cod, an organization that promotes positive change to how society responds to grief in children and young people by providing community engagement opportunities, sharing information and offering educational workshops with the goal of helping children and families cope with death. The Coop Foundation grant will be used to continue programming in three Barnstable County schools to offer expressive art therapy for children who are grieving a death, loss and/or tragedy.
  • $2,500 to Friends Food Pantry (Friends of Bourne Council on Aging) to assist individuals and families in the Town of Bourne suffering from economic hardship and food insecurities. The Friends Food Pantry has been providing food and nutritional assistance for more than three decades, becoming a mainstay in the Bourne community as the demand for services has increased, especially during the pandemic and economic downturn.
  • $2,500 to The Cordial Eye, a community arts organization based on the mid-Cape, to support its Creative Futures Cape Cod (CFCC) program. CFCC is a paid fellowship and educational program for adults aged 18-40 in Hyannis and surrounding areas that have an interest in working within the creative economy. CFCC prioritizes those from historically excluded communities in the region, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled and financially low-resourced individuals who are at greatest risk to enter the criminal justice system on Cape Cod.

In addition, The Coop Foundation issued the latest installments of multi-year grant disbursements of $12,500 to Housing Assistance Corporation for continued support of its THRIVE Program, which offers rental assistance to low- and moderate-income families; and $10,000 to Amplify POC to grow capacity through program development and outreach initiatives designed to eliminate the racial wealth gap on Cape Cod.

“I congratulate the deserving beneficiaries of this quarter’s Coop Foundation grants,” said Lisa Oliver, Chair, President and CEO, Cape & Coast Bank. “These nonprofit organizations and their staff and volunteers are on the front lines of helping our communities deal with the impact of critical issues including housing affordability, food insecurity and systemic racism. Their commitment and dedication make Cape Cod a better place to live and work.”