March 26, 2007

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  NEWS: TJX Breach Led to FL Fraud

  The security breach at TJX that made national headlines when it surfaced two months ago is back in the news. TJX, the parent company of TJ Maxx and a handful of other discount chains, is now being sued by its largest shareholder over the customer data theft that occurred when an information database was hacked. But that's not the biggest headache facing the embattled corporation this week.
  
  It seems that some of the thieves responsible for the TJX hack subsequently used the stolen information in a scam that has defrauded several Florida Wal-Mart stores of some $8 million in merchandise. Multiple scammers used the data recovered from the TJX database to create dummy credit/debit cards, which were then used to purchase large-denomination gift cards at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in 50 of Florida's 67 counties. The thieves bought up heaps of gift cards for $400 apiece – a specific and intentional amount, say authorities, because it falls short of Wal-Mart's $500 threshold at which it requires customer data be input for gift card purchases.
  
  The scam was first detected when employees at several Wal-Marts began noticing that the same customers were making frequent, large purchases with $400 gift cards. The customers were using these gift cards to purchase such big-ticket items as large-screen television sets, computers, and video game consoles. The Gainesville Police Department and Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated transaction records and video surveillance footage to apprehend and arrest six suspects, with warrants issued for the arrests of four more. Authorities did not say whether they considered this amount of suspects to be conclusive.
  
  Meanwhile, TJX has drawn fire for apparently trying to conceal news of the breach until it reached critical mass. The company is not releasing any information as to how the breach occurred or exact numbers of those consumers affected (although that latter group is purported to number in the tens, if not hundreds of thousands), citing the ongoing investigation of state and federal law enforcement into the issue.

  
  The TJX security breach is now being considered one of, if not the largest such thefts ever.
  
  
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