2008 Woodie Awards
Hackers steal credit records from major retailers
By: Mary Forham
Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Mary Fordham
Features Editor
Credit and debit card records of purchases within the last six months from TJ Maxx or Marshalls have been accessed by hackers and used in a continually growing number of identity theft cases.
The TJX Companies, Inc. announced that hackers penetrated into the company's computer system and accessed thousands of customers' credit and debit card information.
These two highly popular retail stores can be found in basically every key city across the nation and in Puerto Rico. So far, 60 banks have reported identity theft problems related to information stolen from either TJ Maxx or Marshalls.
Some banks, such as First Citizens Bank and Trust Company of South Carolina, issued over 50 thousand new cards to customers and deactivated all debit cards that were used at either of these retail stores in the past several months.
"I was shocked and appalled at their lack of corporate governance and responsibility of my personal account information," said Andrea Register, senior economics. "I am thankful that my bank realized the magnitude of Marshalls and TJ Maxx's mistake keeping illegal information."
Recent studies show that in the United States alone, there are up to 7 million victims of identity theft each year. According to statistics, that is a record of 799 cases of identity fraud every hour of every day of the year.
A recent Federal Trade Commission survey showed that 4.6 percent of the U.S. population were victims of identity fraud last year. This percentage adds up to more than 10 million people.
There are several steps to be taken by people who have shopped at either TJ Maxx or Marshalls in the last six months. First, all charges made to credit or debit cards must be monitored closely. If a problem arises, contact the bank immediately and in order to prevent liability, send a notice of the issue in writing.
One of the safest ways to prevent fraud in this situation would be to request a new credit or debit card from the bank in order to change any information that could lead to identity theft.
Features Editor
Credit and debit card records of purchases within the last six months from TJ Maxx or Marshalls have been accessed by hackers and used in a continually growing number of identity theft cases.
The TJX Companies, Inc. announced that hackers penetrated into the company's computer system and accessed thousands of customers' credit and debit card information.
These two highly popular retail stores can be found in basically every key city across the nation and in Puerto Rico. So far, 60 banks have reported identity theft problems related to information stolen from either TJ Maxx or Marshalls.
Some banks, such as First Citizens Bank and Trust Company of South Carolina, issued over 50 thousand new cards to customers and deactivated all debit cards that were used at either of these retail stores in the past several months.
"I was shocked and appalled at their lack of corporate governance and responsibility of my personal account information," said Andrea Register, senior economics. "I am thankful that my bank realized the magnitude of Marshalls and TJ Maxx's mistake keeping illegal information."
Recent studies show that in the United States alone, there are up to 7 million victims of identity theft each year. According to statistics, that is a record of 799 cases of identity fraud every hour of every day of the year.
A recent Federal Trade Commission survey showed that 4.6 percent of the U.S. population were victims of identity fraud last year. This percentage adds up to more than 10 million people.
There are several steps to be taken by people who have shopped at either TJ Maxx or Marshalls in the last six months. First, all charges made to credit or debit cards must be monitored closely. If a problem arises, contact the bank immediately and in order to prevent liability, send a notice of the issue in writing.
One of the safest ways to prevent fraud in this situation would be to request a new credit or debit card from the bank in order to change any information that could lead to identity theft.
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