Released: October 25, 2007

Extent of TJ Maxx data breach grows

Source: Mark Jewell, Associated Press (Free Registration)

At least 94 million Visa and MasterCard accounts may have been exposed to potential fraud in a data breach at TJX, more than double the previous estimate by the discount retailer. The figure was included in court filings this week that cited officials from the credit card associations.

The filings in a bank case against TJX indicated that fraud-related losses involving Visa cards alone range from $68 million to $83 million and are spread across 13 countries. One filing warned that the total will rise as thieves continue to use data from compromised cards.

“These are going to be sold off for a period of time in the future, so it’s going to continue for some time out there,” Joseph Majka, Visa USA’s vice president of investigations and fraud management, said in court documents unsealed late Tuesday.

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