Posted on 12/18/2013 7:38:18 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
Payment card data was stolen from an unknown number of Target Corp customers starting on the busy Black Friday weekend in a major breach at the U.S. retailer, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Secret Service is investigating, according to a spokesman for the agency, which safeguards the nation's payment systems. Target officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Investigators believe the data was obtained via software installed on machines that customers use to swipe magnetic strips on their cards when paying for merchandise at Target stores, according to the person who was not authorized to discuss the matter and declined to provide further details.
Krebs on Security, a closely watched security industry blog that broke the news, said the breach involved nearly all of Target's 1,797 stores in the United States, citing sources at two credit card issuers. The report said that "track data" from at least 1 million payment cards was thought to have been stolen before Target uncovered the operation, but that the number could be significantly higher.
"When all is said and done, this one will put its mark up there with some of the largest retail breaches to date," the report cited an unnamed source as saying.
The biggest credit card breach at a U.S. retailer reported to date was an attack against TJX Cos, the parent of TJ Maxx and Marshalls. The company disclosed in March 2007 that data from 45.7 million payment cards had been stolen by hackers over 18 months. Banks later asserted in court documents the hackers could have obtained more than 94 million account numbers.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Fraudulent charges can be disputed easily and cards replaced. This doesn’t make we want to use cards any less. In fact, I lost 3 card numbers a couple of years ago at work because our cafeteria had problems. Other than having my CC company shut down my card as soon as something looked hinky, wasn’t difficult to go through the process.
But carrying cash is risky at best. Lose it, stolen. No way to get that back.
Do you know Secret Service Agents who meet your description or is this information obtained from the honorable media which is accessible to anyone?
The type of secret service who would take a bullet for Zero is a far cry from one that would take a bullet for Reagan.
Probably an extension of their mandate to go after counterfeiters.
My husband talked to somebody at our bank and she said they were on heightened alert for any fraudulent activity and that they were not telling people to get new debit cards... yet. I still feel uneasy about all this, though, so I don’t know what to do.
It’s the manic buying season and I guess the banks are trying to be proactive. Don’t be surprised if they fail to honor your purchases at the checkout “just to be safe”.
Just wait until the hackers make their move at healthcare.gov. Most likely they are already “in”, just waiting for enough accounts to be created to make it worth their while. Granted that at the rate people are signing up, “worth the hackers’ while” might be months away.
I have a Target card, although I was not in the store during the period they mention. However, I did use the card on-line. I wonder if they managed to capture my info?
I’ve received a couple of odd email which I did not open. I’m sure they were phishing mails — especially the one I got today that said that I needed to upgrade some bank account which I do not have. Delete!
I hope they are being extra vigilant. This is really worrying me. I may go back to my band tomorrow and insist that they give me a new card.
The older I get, the more I long for the simpler days of my youth.
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Exactly right.
You have a band?
You axe slinger you. ;-)
The news reports I saw indicated that the problem was limited to card readers at Target stores. However those reports also indicated, at least as I understood them, that ANY credit or debit card that was run though a reader at a Target store during that period WAS compromised.
Further, at least one report indicated that there have been indications of trouble at other retailers. It looks like if one has used their card in the last month or so, it’d be a good idea to check one’s statements and “activity”, the latter perhaps every weekend, for unauthorized activity. I’d keep checking, indefinitely.
The same industry that fails to secure our data offers us identity protection insurance for $19.99 a month. I’d never own a debit card where they can get their hands on my money.
Yup. Caught red-handed.
Ha, ha, very funny.... are you sure this isn’t one of my grown children giving me a hard time? ;-)
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