Stop and Shop announced today the latest in a line of thefts of customers personal credit card information. The incident was of particular interest because it apparently involved the actual bugging of in store credit card readers. http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/02/19/stop__shop_reports_credit_data_was_stolen/
This has been a rather common way of stealing card info but up to this point it has been mostly by individuals in an establishment who while running your card for a purchase would then also swipe it into a magnetic device that would copy the information from the swipe strip. The actual physical "bugging" of in store machines is a quantum leap forward in electronic crime.
There is no report as of yet as to the damage done by this security breach but it has a disturbing element in that it seems that thieves have stepped up their game and always seem to be one step ahead of the government. This is the third major breach in Massachusetts this year. The other notables included the Boston Globe and TJX companies.
With increasing reports of the theft of electonic data how long will it be before we have a major incident that results in 100's of million dollars in damage or more? More importantly than the national financial implications is the damage done to the individuals whose indentities have been compromised. The following site tells the stories of a number of victims. http://www.privacyrights.org/cases/victim.htm
Anybody who has a even a small mistake on their credit report can relate stories of anger and frustration in trying to clear the wrong information. The credit bureaus are so arrogant they don't even bother to have a number for you to call. Write a letter and in 60 days they may look at it if they feel like it.
Strangely enough, the real major damage is likely to be caused by the government and will probably occur in the financial services industry somewhere. The post 9/11 security knee jerk reactions have resulted in information gathering in banking and brokerage that is so intrusive and cumbersome that it may result in 10 or 15 pages of information and applications in order to open an account. Information may include other bank accounts and source of your funds.
Once opened, even more information is necessary to get access to your account on line. Here are some of the things asked on one website. The standard request for your mother's maiden name along with your first car, the street you lived on as a kid, your elementary school, the name of your first dog, your father's middle name, your favorite color, and your favorite hobby. Some of this stuff is more information than your wife knows about you.
This is done ostensibly for the protection of the client but when a breach occurs it will be the clients who are damaged most. With all these applications collecting all your personal information laying around in some file cabinet and some electronic wharehouse, how long will be before some enterprising criminal and some lax corporate or government entity bump into one another?
Guinness keeps a book of world records. I wonder how long it will be before some criminals sets a record for electronic crime and how long before another will break it?
