Supermarket Breach Exposes 4M Credit Cards

Private data lying around in plain view on Internet

(NEWSER) - Last year the number of identity theft victims in the US jumped 12%, while the number of Internet-related fraud cases went up 23%. But the problem isn't just hackers, say experts: In many cases, we're exposing our private data to anyone and everyone who knows where to look. Atlanta officials recently found names, Social Security numbers, and home phone numbers of 1,000 of the city's firefighters online, for instance. More»

Fees on signature debit purchases boost banks, screw merchants

(NEWSER) - In a bizarre twist, the intense competition among debit card companies has resulted in a race to higher prices, which benefit banks at the expense of retailers, not to speak of consumers. At issue is whether you sign for that debit purchase or enter your PIN instead—the former costing merchants twice as much as the latter. Visa has cornered the market in signature purchases, which reward banks, which in turn motivates banks to bring Visa more business, which in turn has spurred other companies to raise their fees as well. Merchants just shake their heads. More»

(NEWSER) - Federal prosecutors indicted three hackers in Washington today for allegedly snagging more than 130 million credit card numbers from retail and financial organizations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Calling it the greatest US debit- and credit-card data theft ever, feds hit Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, and two accomplices with charges of conspiracy and conspiracy to engage in wire fraud. More»

A surge in debit-card usage reflects a shift from the days of easy credit

(NEWSER) - The recession has boosted the popularity of debit cards, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the last quarter of 2008, debit-card transactions processed by Visa were 50.4% of the company’s volume, surpassing credit cards for the first time. Rival MasterCard’s debit volume surged 13% last year as credit-card volume declined 2.2%. Consumers seem to prefer the pay-as-you go model to the rising cost of maintaining credit. More»

Alerts issued after malware infects another payment processor

(NEWSER) - Mastercard and Visa have alerted financial institutions about another serious data breach at a payment processor, Wired reports. The breach, like the massive fraud unveiled at Heartland Payment Systems last month, is believed to have occurred through malicious software. The credit card issuers are refusing to name the processor involved because it has yet to go public with the breach. More»