100 Million consumers could have had credit card information stolen

[jeffrey]

A recently discovered data breach at a New Jersey credit-card processor could rank among the biggest ever reported.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. disclosed Tuesday that cyber criminals compromised its internal computer network, gaining access to customer information associated with the 100 million card transactions it handles each month.

The company said it couldn't estimate how many customer records may have been improperly accessed but that the compromised data includes credit card numbers, card expiration dates and some internal bank codes. Heartland, which is based in Princeton, N.J., processes transactions for more than 250,000 businesses nationwide...

Credit-Card Processor Heartland Reports a Massive Data Breach - WSJ.com

[poundwise]

Lovely.

[vole]

And the cost of monitoring and correcting fraudulent charges goes to the victims rather than the company responsible for the data breach.

The credit card processing company made $millions processing the cards but don't take any responsibility for losses they cause.

Business as usual. The little guy ends up paying, the corporations keep the profits.

[rob62521]

Let's see, if you pay cash for everything you basically have no credit score, but if you use a credit card, you risk getting the number compromised. Don't you just love it?

[vole]

Let's see, if you pay cash for everything you basically have no credit score, but if you use a credit card, you risk getting the number compromised. Don't you just love it?

I'm ready to get rid of my credit cards. Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Business School Professor, writes about the abuses of credit card companies.

She points out the credit cards come with 20 page contract written in tiny print that only a lawyer could understand. Warren says she doesn't bother to read the contract since it's meaningless. They change the rules at will.

One major scam is offering a low teaser rate on purchases that jumps to 30%. The reason for a jump can be if the card holder is late paying a utility bill (not even with a credit card).

"Gotcha Capitalism" also tells about the credit card abuses.


But if you don't have a credit card, you can't rent a car. And many businesses won't take a check.

Stephen Baker, author of "Numerati" warns about the monitoring of the digital data we produce using credit cards and cell phones.

Our Digital Lives, Monitored By A Hidden 'Numerati' : NPR

All of this is not for our convenience or benefit but to manipulate us and take advantage of psychological weaknesses to generate business profits.

Consumers are subject to businesses practices that are just as bad as those used by tobacco companies.

-Dave

[Bernz]

I just wrote an article regarding this topic on my blog on how it is extremely important to invest in your identity to keep your personal and financial data secure.

[cptacek]

I got an email from my bank today saying they were going to cancel all debit cards and reissue them (just in case) because of this.