Wednesday, Aug. 19
Posted 11 a.m. EDT
Bankrate reporter Leslie McFadden contributed this entry.
A federal grand jury has indicted three men charged with hacking the computer networks of Heartland Payment Systems, a major payment processor, regional supermarket chain Hannaford Brothers and 7-Eleven, among other companies, the Washington Post reports.
The indictment states the men stole more than 130 million debit and credit card numbers and related data from Heartland, 4.2 million files from Hannaford and an unknown amount from 7-Eleven in breaches spanning nearly two years.
The government claims the perpetrators conspired to bundle the data "into batches suitable for wholesale distribution over the Internet," which would then be used to "make unauthorized purchases at retail locations, to make unauthorized withdrawals from banks and financial institutions, and to further identity theft schemes."
One of the defendants, 28-year-old Albert Gonzales, isn't a first-timer to large-scale hacks. He was also tied to the breach at TJX Cos. in 2007, which exposed as many as 94 million debit and credit card numbers.
How to deal with data breaches
Breaches like these can result in existing account fraud, where an imposter uses your account to make purchases or transfer funds. Here are a few tips to combat this type of fraud:- Verify that your bank has your current phone number and address. The last thing you need is a replacement card arriving at a former place of residence. If your bank hasn't contacted you about a breach that may have exposed your information, call the company and ask if your account was affected. Review your periodic statements for fraudulent charges and report them immediately.
- If you know your information was exposed, ask the issuer to close your account and send a new card. Federal law restricts liability for credit cardholders to $50 for unauthorized charges, and many cards have zero liability policies. Debit cardholders are liable for up to $50 if they report fraudulent transactions within two days after learning of the theft, and up to 60 days to dispute charges for a liability of $500. After 60 days, the debit cardholder can lose an unlimited amount. The debited funds can cause checks to bounce, so don’t delay to report stolen card data.
For more information about data breaches and ID theft, read the Bankrate features “12-step program for ID theft victims” and “Dealing with theft of information.”
Comments? Questions? E-mail plastic_rap@bankrate.com.
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