by Hans Eisenbeis
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Heartland Payment Systems reported in January 2009 that their databases had been breached in 2008, exposing up to 100 million credit card holders to potential fraud (WashingtonPost.com 1.20.09).
- The New Jersey company processes electronic payments for small and mid-sized businesses, especially restaurants. The good news? The crooks were not able to get access to names, addresses and social security numbers, so the prospect of full-blown identity theft is minor. The bad news: Heartland is not saying who any of its 250,000 clients are, so consumers can only know if they’ve been improperly charged by watching their statements — or if they get a new card in the mail from their issuer.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- Crime of all kinds is up in the Great Recession, and since this is the first Internet-enabled recession, we expect to see big growth in electronic fraud.
- Consumers are already shifting from credit cards to cash and debit cards. The rise in electronic theft may seal the deal on quitting the credit — and bring out the scissors.
RESOURCES
