Data Breach Alert: A series of data thefts impact Visa and MasterCard

Posted by Caitlin on March 3rd, 2009

Reports of more another breach have followed the news that 100 million transactions processed by Heartland Payment Systems had been exposed last month. Visa and MasterCard recently warned certain banks and credit unions that more customer data has been compromised, but will not disclose the name of the latest credit card processor to be infiltrated, nor will they say how many customers have been affected.

The Heartland breach was discovered only after a pattern of credit card fraud emerged, leading back to the credit card processor. This means that the stolen card numbers were actively in use by identity thieves. Security analyst Michael Argast says that the latest stolen data has most likely also reached the hands of criminals.

Impacted banks have begun issuing replacement credit and debit cards to MasterCard and Visa cardholders, and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. It is always a good idea to have a credit monitoring service keep an eye on your credit report and alert you of any suspicious activity.

An identity theft protection service will go a step further to protect you and to prevent fraudulent accounts from being opened in your name. To learn more about credit monitoring services and identity theft protection services, see our reviews and comparison charts.

• Data Breach Alert: 100 million possible victims in what may be the largest data breach ever
• Data Breach Alert: Millions at risk for identity theft due to supermarket chain data breach
• Data Breach Alert: Theft puts 13,000 Pfizer employees at risk
• TJ Maxx parent company offers 15% off to victims of massive data breach
• Data Breach Alert: Stolen laptop leaves thousands of Connecticut State students exposed