American Express Warns of Merchant Data Breach; Verizon Hack Exposes Business Customers
American Express has warned some of its cardholders about a “data security incident” involving an unidentified merchant. In a letter posted online this month with the California attorney general’s office, the payments network told consumers that their data may have been compromised.
The breach reportedly happened in December 2013 and did not involve “American Express owned or controlled systems.” Potential compromised data include cardholders’ account numbers, names and expiration dates, the letter says. Neither American Express nor the attorney’s general office provided more specifics about the incident. The letter assures cardholders they are not liable for fraudulent charges on their accounts.
In related news, a hacker attack has compromised the data of some 1.5 million customers of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, the business unit of the telecommunications provider that sells I.T. security and other services to other businesses. The hackers reportedly stole basic contact information of Verizon clients, and have sought to sell that data, along with information about Verizon vulnerabilities, online.
Related stories:
- Viewpoint: Why Tokenization May Be the Hotel Industry’s Best Fraud Protection
- As Threats Evolve, Cybersecurity Spending Surges
- Report: Fraudsters’ Test Runs Surged in Q4 2015
- Report: Fraudsters’ Test Runs Surged in Q4 2015
