Thursday, March 1, 2007
IF YOU SUSPECT FRAUD
MONITOR debit card activity.
CONTACT police and your debit card company about any questionable charges and file a police report.
FILE a report on any questionable charges with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or at (877) 438-4338.
PLACE a fraud alert in your credit file by contacting Equifax at (800) 525-6285, Experian at (888) 397-3742 or TransUnion Corp. at (800) 680-728.
Thousands of TD Banknorth customers in Maine and other states are receiving letters telling them they'll be getting new debit cards and PIN numbers, part of the continuing fallout from a security breach at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and other stores owned by TJX Cos.
As many as 200,000 TD Banknorth customers in eight states could be reissued debit cards, the bank said on Wednesday. The customers have card numbers that Visa has identified as affected by the theft of information from TJX. The bank has 1 million debit cards in circulation.
Most other Maine banks and many credit unions have taken similar steps to reissue debit cards, or are in the process of doing so, spokesmen say.
TD Banknorth is telling affected customers that they can continue using their debit cards in the meantime, while the bank beefs up monitoring and security. Customers aren't liable for fraudulent charges on their cards, the bank has said.
No one can estimate how many Mainers' cards may have been misused because of the security breach. The information is confidential.
TD Banknorth hasn't seen an uptick in irregular charges, according to Leslie Roberts, an assistant vice president for corporate communications.
Banks nationwide have been scrambling to notify customers and replace cards since January, when TJX Cos. reported unauthorized entry into its computer system. The security breach appears to have taken place between July of 2005 and mid-December of 2006.
Last month, the company also said it found drivers' license numbers associated with merchandise returns had been compromised at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico in 2003 and 2004.
In addition to T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, TJX Cos. also operates A.J. Wright and HomeGoods in Maine. The company said it has upgraded its security systems, and customers should feel safe shopping in the stores.
Chris Pinkham, president of the Maine Association of Community Banks, estimated that tens of thousands of cards and PIN numbers are being replaced in Maine.
"The bulk of the replacement cards have already been issued," he said Wednesday.
The process has taken time, he said, because so many cards needed to be replaced nationally that supplies have been running out.
"Nobody has thousands of cards in stock," he said. "Banks had to order them."
Banks are very unhappy about the TJX Cos. security breach.
Joe Pietroski, who represents commercial banks as president of the Maine Bankers Association, said it costs between $12 and $22 to replace each debit card, including the cost of notification. That's a big expense for smaller banks, he said, and in some states, banking groups are pushing for legislation to require retailers to pick up the tab.
Banks also don't want customers to be inconvenienced and worried when they need new cards and PIN numbers. Some customers who saw media coverage about the TJX Cos. incident called their banks to say they shopped at those stores and wanted a new card, Pietroski said.
At TD Banknorth, Roberts said some customers who got letters were generally supportive.
"We're getting positive feedback from customers who are glad we're being proactive," she said.
Staff writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6462 or
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