1.5 Million Credit, Debit Card Numbers Compromised

Global Payment, a credit card processor, revealed a security breach compromised the card numbers of 1.5 million credit and debit card users. In an increasingly electronic world, the threat of identity fraud is on the rise. And 1.5 million more North Americans could now be the victims of this form of cyber theft. Global Payments, an Atlanta-based credit card processor, confirmed up to 1.5 million credit and debit card numbers were compromised in a recent security breach.

Global Payment, a credit card processor, revealed a security breach compromised the card numbers of 1.5 million credit and debit card users.

In an increasingly electronic world, the threat of identity fraud is on the rise. And 1.5 million more North Americans could now be the victims of this form of cyber theft.

Global Payments, an Atlanta-based credit card processor, confirmed up to 1.5 million credit and debit card numbers were compromised in a recent security breach.

The company said only North American customers were affected, which isn’t much comfort to all the Americans and Canadians wondering if their information is floating around without any protection from fraudsters.

Originally, the company thought only Visa and MasterCard customers were affected, but further investigation showed no cardholders were safe. And the company still has no estimate on how much the breach will cost the company or consumers.

While the company is setting up a website to provide updates on the breach, the incident calls further attention to cyber security. Obviously Global Payment and other payment processors handling hoards of sensitive financial data should consider reforming their security systems.

But, in reality, hackers are clever and will find a way around any fiery security hoops companies throw at them. So, how do we keep our information safe? Experts say the best ways include shopping secure sites and following your statements closely. Then again, incidents like this don’t instill much confidence in how industry experts contend with security threats.