Credit Cards Online Information

Compromised financial data is causing concern in Wisconsin again.

Marshall & Ilsley Bank, the largest bank based in the state, said Wednesday it recently reissued some credit and debit cards to protect customers from the possibility of fraud.

Also on Wednesday, Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager said she is joining 46 other attorneys general in urging Congress to pass a law requiring businesses to notify consumers when their personal financial information has been compromised.

M&I said it canceled and reissued "a small number" of credit and debit cards that had been deemed compromised as a result of a previously investigated security breach at a third-party processor that is not affiliated with the bank. Visa USA notified M&I of the breach.

Other details on the security breach were not available, but it was separate from a widely publicized incident last spring in which as many as 40 million card accounts of all brands and banks may have been exposed to hackers who penetrated the computerized data of Atlanta-based CardSystems Solutions Inc.

In that case, M&I and Green Bay-based Associated Bank reissued thousands of debit cards to customers whose account numbers may have been obtained by thieves. M&I reissued an undisclosed number of credit card accounts at that time.

In both instances, M&I sent letters explaining the situation to any customer affected.

Not all companies whose customers' information has been compromised are as forthcoming. Some large banks and other companies prefer to monitor accounts that may have been compromised and step in when there is evidence someone is attempting to use them fraudulently.

That reluctance to promptly notify potential identity theft or card fraud victims is spurring some public officials into action.

The legislation sought by the attorneys general would let consumers put a "security freeze" on their credit report, allowing them to control who can receive a copy of their credit reports. That would make it hard for thieves to use stolen data to open an account in the victim's name.

Lautenschlager noted that Wisconsin has had some "serious breaches of security that could lead to identity theft and other crimes against Wisconsin consumers."

# posted by Medical Information : 2:32 AM