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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Identity Theft Is Just Horrible



Target, security auditor Trustwave are sued over data breach

Reuters 
FILE - In this Dec. 19, 2013, file photo, a passer-by walks near an entrance to a Target retail store in Watertown, Mass. Target Corp. reports quarterly financial results before the market opens on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
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In this Dec. 19, 2013, file photo, a passer-by walks near an entrance to a Target retail store in Watertown, Mass. Target Corp. reports quarterly financial results before the market opens on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014. Trustmark National Bank and Green Bank N.A. have sued security firm Trustwave for damages suffered from the holiday season data breach at Target Corp, accusing the company of failing to identify security gaps, the American Banker reported. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - Target Corp and Trustwave Holdings Inc, which provides credit card security services, have been sued by two banks for "monumental" losses they say card issuers will face because of the retailer's holiday season data breach.
In a complaint filed on Monday in Chicago federal court, Trustmark National Bank and Green Bank NA accused the defendants of failing to properly secure customer data, enabling the theft of about 40 million payment card records plus 70 million other records, including addresses and phone numbers.
The banks said they lost money from alerting customers to the breach, reimbursing fraudulent charges and reissuing cards. These losses could increase, they said, if criminals ultimately use several million stolen cards as some analysts project.
While the complaint seeks unspecified damages of at least $5 million, New York-based Trustmark and Houston-based Green Bank said losses could top $1 billion for card issuers they hope to represent in a class action, and $18 billion for banks and retailers combined.
Target already faces dozen of lawsuits over the breach. Monday's case may be the first to focus on Trustwave, a privately held Chicago-based company to which the banks said Target had outsourced some data security services.
Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman, said the retailer did not discuss pending litigation. Trustwave spokeswoman Abby Ross said that company had a policy of not confirming its customers' identities or discussing pending legal matters.
The data breach occurred from November 27, the big shopping day known as Black Friday, to roughly December 15.
In a Tuesday report issued ahead of a U.S. Senate committee hearing on protecting consumer data from cyber attacks, Senate staffers said Target "missed a number of opportunities" to stop the breach.
According to the lawsuit, Minneapolis-based Target knew as early as 2007 that its systems were vulnerable but resisted making improvements, in part to keep costs down. It ultimately outsourced data security to Trustwave.
Despite advertising its "deep expertise" in payment card industry compliance, however, Trustwave failed to bring Target's computer systems up to industry standards and as late as September 20 found "no vulnerabilities," the complaint said.
"The damage done to the banks and the other class members is monumental," the lawsuit said.
Trustmark and Green Bank seek to hold Target and Trustwave liable for losses under a Minnesota law addressing payment card security, as well as for negligence and violations of other state consumer laws.
Crain's Chicago Business and American Banker had reported the lawsuit earlier.
The case is Trustmark National Bank et al v. Target Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 14-02069.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Arnab Sen in Bangalore and Jim Finkle in Boston; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier and Lisa Von Ahn)
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  • Kimberly 12 hours ago
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    I, too, used my debit card at Target and my info was used to buy stuff on the internet. After I inadvertently bounced a check, I discovered that the thieves had cleaned me out. I disputed all the charges and my bank reissued my card. The worst part was it took 6 weeks to get my debit card instead of the usual 7-10 days. The investigation of the charges which I disputed on January 3, 2014, was resolved in my favor yesterday and I got every penny back. It just took far too long. The bank told me that because of the unusual amount of debit cards being reissued and the number of investigations was the reason for the long wait time. I won't tell you what bank I'm with but I was told that 1 in 7 debit cards with my bank were affected by the Target breach. I figure they will be suing as well.
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  • Peri 18 hours ago
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    The Credit / Debit Card industries really need to come up with better methods. Currently it is way too easy to steal information and use it either online or in person. Thumbprint readers, iris scans, facial recognition are just some thoughts of how to keep an individual's information protected. The technology is there, just not in use.

    The company Trustwave is a joke: Another leech-like company sucking the blood out of small and large businesses at the behest of giant merchant card processors with the nod of approval from Visa/Mastercard. They produce paperwork for paperwork's sake in the name of a secure transaction.
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  • XXCTSXX99 18 hours ago
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    About 15 years ago I attended a seminar where an ex-con (part of his probation was to educate the public) described how he and his co-conspirators used to steal people's information. One example was that they had waiters/waitresses in on the scam and from the time they took your card at the table until they got to the cash register to ring you up, the waiter/waitress had already copied your information on a little gizmo the size of a large beeper. Before you left the restaurant, they had already sold your card's information. By the time you got home, they had already used your card number to purchase stuff. Now hackers can get your info through computers from wherever they are. This is why I NEVER, NEVER, EVER use my ATM card for anything other than at the ATM. Your ATM card is attached to your checking/savings acct and anyone who hacks it will have immediate access to ALL your money. Yes, you'll get the money back eventually (hopefully) but how do you pay the bills in the meantime? What about all those fees for bounced checks? If a credit card is hacked, you can dispute the charge and even if it takes 2 months for the credit card company to investigate, your regular bills are fine. Despite being careful, my credit cards have been hacked 3 times but I didn't lose even $1 over it.
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  • Georgia Belle 19 hours ago
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    Not that it would've helped any of the consumers victimized by this breach, but do you know you can freeze your credit and prevent thieves from stealing it? In some cases it's free to do. I did it a few months ago and it cost me $3 per credit bureau. The credit agencies don't advertise it because charging you to 'monitor' your credit is a $$BILLION$$ dollar industry. Why would they tell the consumer they can put their credit on complete lockdown until they need it again when the bureaus and other companies can charge up to $20 a month for a service that will only tell you after the fact that someone just cooked your bacon?

    You can freeze and thaw your credit whenever you want and (until Corporate America can figure out a way to punish you for destroying their revenue stream) it has no adverse affect on your credit. Just go to each of the three bureaus, find the freeze credit link and shut your credit down. It's easy to do...except for Transunion. I know four people who did it in the past couple of months and each of us had the same horror story to tell about Transunion. Don't let them dissuade you. Protect yourself! Freeze your credit today!
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  • RealityChic 22 hours ago
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    Our card was used at Target during this breach. We live in the south; however, a transaction was made at an ATM somewhere in New York city. First, the balance was checked, then a withdrawal was made of the highest amount allowed. Luckily, there is a daily limit on ATM withdrawals. Since I was already in the habit of checking our accounts daily, this one time withdrawal was all the happened to us. This Target breach did allow the hackers to get the PIN numbers. It took a while to get our money back due to the use of the PIN, but eventually we did get the money back. This type of violation will definitely change all your habits regarding your bank cards. We now use a credit card for all purchases transactions and pay the credit card off from our bank account. There is just more protection from having your bank account wiped out (including savings if you have it attached to your checking account to keep from having overdrafts).
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  • Bird 22 hours ago
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    It was customer information that was stole from the credit/debit card mechine yet its other "Big Business" suing another "Big Business" for damages. What about those customers who had their personal information stolen? All any of this is going to do is create higher prices at Target and other retailers, increased service fees at your banks and who knows what else. Basically it comes down to an excuse for the American people to get screwed over again while the wealth make off with more.
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  • Hopethrugod 3 hours ago
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    The banks are suing Target, although more often than not, the banks experience the same problems with security breeches and identity theft, and the banks and credit card companies are even more strictly regulated and have insurance setup for protection against such scenarios, and where a bank can even repo your car after just one late or missed payment, read the fine print. And security breeches happen all the time with smaller businesses, and it is only because Target is so large, that the banks think they can go after them. ... That said, if anyone thinks Target was irresponsible and to blame, then you better look into the ACA website, which requires all personal information including one's SSN, yet has no security protections built in to protect from identity theft, nor is the government help liable if their is a breech. Everyone should be up in arms over this one!
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  • Yeshua El Messiah 5 hours ago
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    If you get the christian movie "Gathering" you will notice that at one point they speak of breaching stealing personal info from credit cards to introduce the micro chip which is a hidden factor of the mark of the beast which is 666 that who ever do not accept it can not buy or sale anything until then. REVELATION 13:17: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 13:18: Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six = 666. Introducing the One World Order at that.

    Every evolves precisely around the Holy Scriptures of the Bible. IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP AND TURN TO YESHUA PEOPLE OF THE PLANET EARTH. HE ALONE CAN SAVE US, AMEN...
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  • Bear 21 hours ago
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    Trustmark National Bank suing for damages THEY have suffered is the quintessential embodiment of the "unjust servant" spoken of in Matthew 18. TNB recently admitted to bilking millions from their own consumer customers over the years by intentionally ordering daily transactions in such a way to maximize overdraft fees. This is not to mention the strong-arm tactics they use against their commercial customers. They are easily the most morally corrupt pit of vipers in the state. I'm sure everything they do is legal, by strict definition, but I feel the need to shower off the stench every time I drive by their office.
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  • lovemaster 21 hours ago
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    Why are we not investing more energy to go after the disgusting people/person who caused the breach? These computer hackers are the most cowardly criminals, hiding behind their computer screens and disrupting millions of lives. I have been hacked on two occasions, once on social media and once on email. Although I contained the damage, if I ever found out who did it, I would make sure to smash their computer right in front of these pinheads. I have no patience for cyber criminals.
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