by DerBingle
Two years ago when hackers broke into the Heartland Payment Systems database they stole one hundred and thirty million credit and debit card numbers. The trail eventually led to a Miami man who confessed to authorities that he and several others were also responsible for the theft of another 40 million card numbers from a number of major companies.
The banks affected by this data breach are taking the proper steps by canceling old credit cards and issuing new ones.
But as Carl Bradbury the director of consumer card products for the Commerce Bank tells the Kansas City Star, The Heartland theft is just now being felt by many banks.
Why? Because when thieves “steal blocks of numbers, especially a large block of numbers like this, they break them into smaller blocks and sell them, and so it goes onâ€
Factor in this was an international ring and that it takes times to reissue a million new credit card numbers let alone 130 million and it becomes clear that this thing will not be over with for some time to come.
Yet as strange as it sounds, this process is easy for places like Heartland. Easy in comparison to the average individual that does not have an investigative team and group of experts at their disposal. So the recovery process can take much longer.
Contacting the various agencies is just one example; some of whom go out of their way to make it as difficult as possible for the person to clear their name.
There have been any of a number of horror stories from individuals who have said that trying to deal with some of these places was worst than the actual identity theft.
They know the victim’s last known address is still valid. They also know that the day a fraudulent charge or charges showed up in some store clear across the country, the victim had used their card at the same time in a restaurant just a couple of miles from their home.
Explaining to agencies that it was not you when they know that but refuse to accept it is a tough proposition.
Then there is waiting for the other shoe to drop. If the thief has gained access to your social security number or other personal information they may be going around the country opening up new lines of credit or making extravagant purchases until they are finally caught or the agencies start working on your behalf.
Either way the wait game is nerve wracking because you are not quite sure when it will end.
The Heartland Payment theft as well as the others will no doubt be felt for quite some time to come. The good news is they have the capital and manpower to eventually get it done.
It goes without saying that many individuals that have been victimized by identity theft would sure like to have access to the same resources.
For more information on identity theft crimes and the steps to recovering your identity please visit IIdentity Theft and Fraud. Article written by Daryl Campbell
Article Source: Articlenexus.com
Tags: authorities, banks, credit card numbers, credit cards, data breach, debit card numbers, hackers, horror stories, identity theft, identity theft crimes, identity theft recovery, thieves
