Border Arrests Believed to Be Linked to Target Data Breach (Jan. 21, 2014)
The Target stores data breach that occurred during the holiday shopping season and affected millions of Target shoppers continues to make headlines as police made two arrests at the Texas-Mexico border.
Yesterday in southern Texas, McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez announced the arrests of two Monterrey, Mexico, residents while they were trying to reenter the U.S. The suspects allegedly were carrying nearly 100 fraudulent cards at the time of the arrest, and investigators believe they were involved in acquiring account data obtained in the Target breach, producing cards and going on spending sprees at stores in the area, according to reports. An unidentified federal official, however, questioned whether there is a connection between the McAllen arrests and the Target breach, and said that the investigation is ongoing, according to a Fox News report.
Target confirmed on Dec. 19 that a security breach had exposed payment card data of consumers who shopped at store locations between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. Earlier this month, lawmakers called for an FTC investigation of Target’s security practices, and Neiman Marcus, a chain of upscale department stores, confirmed that it, too, was a victim of hackers who stole customers’ payment card information over the holidays.
Citigroup said last week it will replace all customer debit cards involved in the data breach, according to a report. “This is being done as a precautionary measure,” Citi spokeswoman Elizabeth Fogarty told Reuters.
