My data WAS stolen

Wonder what would have happened if I did not stay on top of my checking account statement. I got my new Visa check card and used it both for a debit purchase and a credit one, as I was instructed to by my bank. Today I called to have the old card cancelled and guess what....my data WAS stolen in the Heartland security breach.

My bank said they tried to call me and tell me last week when they finally received confirmation that I was one of the victims, but whoever updated my address in their system when I moved five years ago failed to update my phone number. Luckily I check my bank statement weekly, after I run three different virus scan programs; and luckily I was already aware of the security breach three weeks before it was even announced in the news and had already taken steps to safe guard my account on my own by requesting a new card.

What about all these other people that are just now being notified by their banks because Heartland is only just now releasing the information to Visa and Mastercard of what accounts were breached? How many of them already have fraudulent charges on their accounts that they now have to dispute? How many people have been issued new cards without even knowing it is because their data was breached and therefore they should be taking extra care to check their statements for charges they did not authorize?

The fact that Heartland doesn't care about the millions of consumers effected by the breach of their system pisses me off to no end, especially when this could potentially prove to be the largest credit breach in history. It also bothers me that they chose to release the information on the one day they knew all the news agencies and the American people would be distracted....Inauguration Day, January 20th. I'm also ticked off that, to date, they STILL HAVE NOT released an estimate of just how many accounts were possibly breached.

If you're one of the ones still in the dark...here's a link to the Washington Post article about the breach.

Payment Processor Breach May Be Largest Ever

Given the number of transactions Heartland processes a day, I'd be calling my card issuer and demanding a new card immediately. In a half-hearted (no pun intended) attempt to quell anxieties, Heartland has set up their own website about the breach, www.2008breach.com, but don't expect to find much information there. Heartland is all about protecting the merchants that keep them in business, they don't care about us, the consumers.