BreachExchange mailing list archives
Wesco [update]
From: "Dissent" <Dissent () pogowasright org>
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 12:11:43 -0500 (EST)
http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/287522874733787.bsp [...] The potential breach, it initially seemed, stemmed from purchases at Muskegon-based Wesco fuel stations. But federal authorities no longer are certain that the depth and breadth stops there. The federal investigation continues, at the hands of the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney's office. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, several suspects are in custody throughout the United States. [...] Richard Murray, assistant U. S. Attorney for the Western District of West Michigan, said the potential fraud is part of an ongoing investigation. He said several suspects are in custody, although he would not say where. Murray said a suspect recently was apprehended and is being held in Ohio. "We're still analyzing the data," said Murray, who works out of the Grand Rapids-based federal office. "We don't have any information to indicate a specific data breach. We don't know for sure what happened." Murray said all Wesco fuel pumps have been inspected and it's unlikely an unwelcome card reader recorded information directly from credit card swipes at the pump. "At this point we're pursuing all avenues," Murray said. "We don't have any reason to think Western Michigan was targeted specifically. If it was an insider, which we're not saying it is, but that person knew where the data was coming from. Hackers, if they're breaking into a network, don't care where the machine is. They just care where the data is." [...] Seyferth said she's received reports and calls from consumers experiencing similar questionable fraudulent charges who say they've never shopped at Wesco. "This is happening in places where there are no Wescos," said Jill Maitzen, a manager at the Fifth Third Ferrysburg Branch, who has also received fraud complaints from people who have never shopped at Wesco. "This seems to be international and (card numbers) are being sold all over the world." The Tribune has also received similar reports from readers of potentially questionable credit card postings well beyond September. "It's possible other merchants are involved," said Murray, the federal attorney. "That's what we're trying to clarify. It seemed out of proportion to Wesco but we're a little taken aback on the scale that this seems to be reaching. We're trying to figure out if there's something bigger going on than what we thought initially. We're not quite ready for something of this scope. We don't have a squad of people to handle it." Murray said many credit card companies are reissuing new numbers and credit cards to consumers for precautionary reasons. [...] _______________________________________________ Dataloss Mailing List (dataloss () attrition org) http://attrition.org/dataloss Tracking more than 141 million compromised records in 469 incidents over 6 years.
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