Thieves Steal 4.2 Million Credit And Debit Card Numbers From ... - InformationWeek

Thieves stole an estimated 4.2 million recognition and debit entry card Numbers from the Scarborough, Maine-based Hannaford Bros. and Sweetbay supermarket chains, Hannaford Bros. Co. said on Monday.

In a posted on the company Web site, Hannaford Bros. chief executive officer Bokkos Hodge said that the information invasion had been contained and that name calling and computer addresses were not accessed because the company makes not hive away personally identifiable client information with dealing data.

As a consequence, the company said it is not able to advise potentially affected customers. The company said it is working with recognition and debit entry card issuers to find the impact of the purloined data.

"We sincerely repent this invasion into our systems, which we believe, are among the strongest in the industry," said Hodge. "The purloined information was limited to recognition and debit entry card Numbers and termination dates, and was illegally accessed from our computing machine systems during transmittal of card authorization."

The usage of the word "transmission" in Hodge's statement proposes that information may have got been intercepted while being transmitted through a radio system. The Wall Street Journal, citing an nameless source, that research workers are looking at Hannaford's radio system as a possible point of access.

As many as 1,800 lawsuits of fraud have got been linked to the information theft, according to the Associated Press.

Hannaford Bros. did not react to a petition for comment. The company is owned by the Delhaize Group, based in Belgium.

The invasion affected Hannaford Stores in New England and New York, Sweetbay supplies in Florida, and some independently-owned retail supplies in the Northeast that sell Hannaford products. Hannaford Brothers said that the invasion was detected on February 27.

The Bay State Bankers Association, which stands for about 200 fiscal establishments in New England, said on Monday that Visa and MasterCard had contacted between 60 and 70 Banks in Bay State about a big information breach that had occurred at "a major retailer." Visa and MasterCard did not name Hannaford Bros. arsenic a substance of policy.

The Hannaford incident is the biggest publicly known information breach in the U.S. since September 2007, when hackers entrees 6.3 million Ameritrade client name and computer address records. In January 2007, TJX Companies disclosed that information thieves had accessed its waiters during the former year. An estimated 94 million recognition and debit entry card records were stolen.

In December 2007, the Bay State Bankers Association said that it had settled its lawsuit against TJX Companies under unrevealed terms.

Hannaford is advising clients to carefully reexamine their recognition and debit entry card statements over the past three calendar months and to reach the issuing establishment immediately in the event of any irregularity.

Hannaford have put up a client aid line at 866-591-4580.

Hannaford supermarket chain discloses data breach involving credit, debit cards

Portland, Maine-based supermarket concatenation Hannaford Brothers Monday disclosed it have suffered a information invasion into its computer
web that have resulted in the larceny of client recognition and debit entry card numbers.

“The invasion affected Hannaford stores, Sweetbay supplies in Sunshine State and certain independently-operated retail locations in
the Northeast that carry Hannaford products,” declared Ronald Hodge, Hannaford’s president and CEO. Hannaford did not provide
further information except to state that it believes that “no personal information, such as as name calling or addresses, was accessed. Hannaford doesn’t collect, cognize or maintain any personally identifiable client information from transactions.”

According to the statement by Hodge, the information was “illegally accessed from our computing machine systems during transmittal of card
authorization.”

Hannaford is encouraging clients to maintain ticker on their credit-card statements for possible fraud. “Hannaford is cooperating
with recognition and debit entry card issuers to guarantee those clients who may be affected by the larceny are protected,” Hodge said in
the prepared remarks. “We also alerted law enforcement authorities, and are working closely with them to assist place those
responsible.”

Earlier Monday, the Bay State Bankers Association issued a that Visa and MasterCard had contacted 60 to 70 Banks in Bay State about a big information breach at a “large retailer” whose
name it wouldn’t disclose.

“We have got got learned that 60 to 70 of our Banks have received alarms from Visa and MasterCard about one thousands of open credit
and debit entry card game caught in a new information breach,” said Daniel Forte, president and chief executive officer of the Bay State Bankers Association. The information breach is reported to have got occurred between Dec. 7, 2007 and March 10, 2008. The Master in Business said that each depository financial institution that received
an qui vive from the card companies will do its ain determination whether or not to publish new card game or to supervise the business relationships for
the clip being.

NEW: Fast-food worker stole from debit cards - Joliet Herald News

PLAINFIELD -- Police state a fast-food worker went on an drawn-out shopping fling this fall, financed by some of her customers' checking accounts.The worker at a Plainfield Wendy's eating house allegedly stole upward of 50 debit entry card Numbers from drive-through clients by swiping them through her ain electronic card reader.Police arrested Tina Swopes, 18, of Joliet, earlier this calendar month while she worked her shift. She confronts seven counts of personal identity theft.Swopes claimed to have got been swiping debit entry card Numbers from clients for about two weeks, police force force said.A director at Wendy¹s, 13407 S. Prairie State 59, said Thursday he could not notice on Swopes' case.Authorities state Swopes downloaded the Numbers she stored in the card reader to a computer, uploaded them to an empty card and went shopping."She'd pass until the card was declined," said Plainfield police Det. Carianne Siegel. "It depended on how much the individual had in their checking account."About 10 victims who noticed unusual debit entries to their checking business relationships in September and early October contacted Plainfield police.Most of the illegal purchases were made in Pancho Villa Park, Siegel said. Many of them were at gas stations and spirits stores.Some purchases were made in Jolliet -- including the 1 that led research workers to Swopes, at a shop where she filled out a frequent purchaser application."Patrol was able to detect a form while talking to victims -- Wendy¹s was the common denominator," Siegel said.SkimmersSwopes is accused of using a recognition card "skimmer," or a device that reads and supplies the information on a card's magnetic strip.Skimmers are small, about the size of a pager, Siegel said. They work like retail recognition card readers; you swipe a card through the skimmer and information such as as as the card figure and personal designation figure are stored on the device.That information can be downloaded to a computer, then loaded on a different card such as a gift card or expired recognition card, Siegel said.Skimmers aren't illegal to have got in Illinois, but are illegal to use, she said.Protecting oneself against debit entry and recognition card fraud come ups down to keeping the card in sight at all times, police force say.Plainfield not aloneCredit card skimming is a worldwide job whose yearly losings transcend $1 billion, according to the Prairie State Criminal Justice Authority.In March 2006, the U.S. Secret Service uncovered a card skimming cozenage in the Washington, D.C., country that affected more than than 100 victims who lost up to $40,000, according to published reports.A grouping of servers working at four different eating houses used skimmers to steal customers' card numbers, the studies said.Contact Janet Lundquist at (815) 729-6014 or