RSS1.4 Million Affected by Retailer ID Theft
By Ed Oswald | Published April 19, 2005, 12:40 PM
A case of identity theft involving retailer DSW Shoe Warehouse was revealed to be much worse than first thought. Investigators said 1.4 million people -- over 10 times more than initially believed to be affected -- will be alerted that their personal information may have been accessed.
The thefts occurred between November of last year and February, involving 108 of the retailer's 178 stores across 25 states. DSW Shoe Warehouse has provided a list of stores affected on its Web site.
"For each card, the stolen information includes credit or debit card number, name and transaction amount," a statement on the company's Web site said. The company said contact information was not stolen.
Originally, the DSW Shoe Warehouse, as well as investigators, believed that only 100,000 customers had been involved in the theft across 103 of its stores.
"We believe we have taken the steps needed to alert our customers," said Debbie Ferree, President of DSW. "While others have guessed as to the extent of the data stolen, DSW waited to report the key facts listed below until we knew what they were and that the forensic investigation verified them as accurate. We also want our customers to know that we have implemented measures to prevent further data theft of this nature."
Also on Monday, LexisNexis announced that it had begun to contact the 280,000 people affected by a break-in to its own servers.
This is not the first and unfortunately it will be far from the last case of identity theft!
How the hell it took them four months and 1.4 million customers is beyond me.
It seems that a good number of businesses are setting up sales without paying too much regard to security. If the necessary steps were dificult to implement or unavailable, then I could understand. However, this is not the case and frankly, these companies are in my opinion trying to save money.
Governments around the world have simply got to take actions to reduce this problem and a major starting point would be to hold these companies financially responsible for all losses incurred.
It would also be a fairly simple process to require that before trading their security is fully vetted by an official body.
Why should customers be held responsible and to give most credit card companies their due, they will normally reimburse funds stolen this way BUT, if this continues to happen, how long will it be before they say, enough is enough?
Score: 0
|that stinks. Identity theft is really hard to prosecute too.
Just imagine the action movies we're going to have in a couple years. They won't be about big bank heists. They're going to be about some super computer-nerd sitting in a dark room typing madly. Somehow... I don't think it will have the same effect.
Score: 0
|Dude I would pay $11 to see it! Imagine if it was accompanied by mad e-cash/paypal animations, women nerds, and LOTS of sound effects whenever the computer has any sort of action going on the screen!
Score: 0
|Companies that keep personal information on their customers/clients/employees need to be held more accountable for actions like these. Safer methods of storing this information is needed. Might even need to be regulated. The affects of such an attack on the individual is far greater than that of the business.
"Ooops!" Is not an acceptable response by a company, when your personal information is taken and shared.
Now, they are going to take measures to protect the data. LOL - that is criminal in itself.
Score: 0
|I agree with you to an extent, but that is a lot like blaming the security company because a house got robbed. Granted, there has to be some security, and there is no excuse for blatant dis-regard, but it's a lot like the bank security business - they can't guarantee the bank won't be broken into. No security system is inpenetrable - period. And if there's an ethernet cable connected to a server, it's hackable - no matter what.
Score: 0
|You are absolutely right. The only safe way for now is to put away your cards and stop shopping online. Until companies take an active role in security, it is up to us to protect our financial info and it is up to us to demand that these companies are held accountable. (somehow)
Score: 0
|When will these companies finally get it? We, as consumers, are the ones paying the price for their lax security and ineffective handling of our private information. Cleaning up the mess resulting from identity theft can take years, not to mention ruin one's credit rating, cause them to lose out on prime lending rates when purchasing a car or home, even affect their ability to get a job. Until these scumbag CEOs get their heads out of their butts and start taking this issue seriously, we are all at the mercy of information brokers and identity theives.
Someone should start a "Don't Use Credit Cards" campaign. Maybe after we start having a negative effect on THEIR incomes, we'll finally get some worthwhile legislation enacted to curb this epidemic.
Score: 0
|If lawmakers would get off their dead a$$es and do something--oh yeah, that's right--that might require money, and until they're the victims, who cares who else gets screwed, right? Same with oil industry it seems...I don't care what the news says, there are no economic reasons for the spike in oil prices, period. That Iraqi thing has been more stable than before, so why are prices higher? Oh, and now I see LexisNexis has been broken into. Wonderful (that reminds me...I need to start working on my Legal Memo for that Comm Law class...)
Score: 0
|Surprised that Credit Card biggies, banks, aren't freaking out about this more. why? What faith do consumers have anymore in keeping their financial information secure? I am seriously considering ending my card accounts and going back to cash only. If I get robbed or lose my wallet $100-$300 is far less a price to pay than say dealing with repairing my credit "score."
Score: 0
|maybe if they had to pay out any cash that their custmers lost because of their weak security. It wouldnt take much for them to secure up thier systems ahead of time so this stuff would never happend.
Score: 0
|