January 26, 2009
Payment card users are urged to check their monthly statements closely for bogus charges after an American company that processes payments disclosed a breach of its computer system.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. of Princeton, N.J., said intruders broke into its system during 2008 and planted a program they used to steal credit and debit card data.

In a statement posted online at www.2008breach.com, Robert Carr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Heartland, said:

“You need to know that this data did NOT contain merchant data or cardholder Social Security numbers, unencrypted personal identification numbers (PIN), addresses or telephone numbers, therefore making it highly unlikely it can be used for identity theft. As a cardholder, you will not be held financially responsible for any unauthorized transactions. You should regularly monitor your card and bank statements and report all suspicious activity to your issuing bank (the bank that issued the card, not the card brand).”

The Fraud and Security Department of CUETS Financial has posted a notice that “it is possible that some Credit Union MasterCard information may have been compromised.

“The fraud department is actively monitoring accounts for unusual activity, and where appropriate will contact cardholders should action be required (such as closing your account and sending you a new card).

“Please be assured that we will take all necessary steps on the basis of our commitment to the security of your financial information.

“Please contact us at 1-800-561-7849 if you have any questions.” The CUETS website http://www.cuets.ca/index.html
Heartland provides processing services to U.S. merchants and service providers. The company has not released a list of the merchants whose customers may have been affected.

MasterCard Canada said it is “monitoring developments and has notified issuers of cards that are believed to have been put at risk.  These notifications enable issuers to monitor accounts believed to have an elevated level of risk and take such other action as an issuer may believe necessary or appropriate, such as the reissuance of accounts.”