Hacking At Citi Is Latest Data Scare
Citigroup Inc. plans to send replacement credit cards to about 100,000 North American customers after its systems were breached by a hacking attack affecting about 200,000 accounts.</br></br>Citi said on Thursday that the hacked accounts amounted to about 1% of its 21 million North American card customers and that it has referred the incident to law enforcement. The bank said it is contacting affected customers and has implemented procedures to prevent a recurrence.</br></br>The cyberintruders were able to access information including holders' names, account numbers and email addresses, Citi said. But the breach, which was discovered in early May and is the latest in a series of hacking attacks against companies, didn't compromise additional personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or card security codes or expiration dates. The bank didn't rule out that fraudulent activity might have taken place following the attack but said Citi's debit cards weren't affected. Citi didn't say when the attacks occurred.</br></br>Experts estimate the cost of replacing credit cards is as high as $20 apiece.</br></br>Citigroup's action in reporting the problem within weeks and replacing most of the customer cards appears to be an aggressive response. In an episode earlier this year at Michaels Stores Inc., thieves tampered with card processing equipment as early as February, but more than a hundred customers didn't find out until three months later that their accounts were being looted. Once Michaels learned of the situation in May, the crafts store made a public disclosure.