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GLENVILLE
TrustCo sues TJX over breach Bank seeks to recover cost of reissuing cards
BY JAMES SCHLETT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter James Schlett at 395-3040 or jschlett@dailygazette.net.

    TrustCo Bank Corp is resorting to litigation to recoup costs it incurred after reissuing thousands of credit cards to customers affected by the security breach at the parent company of the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains.
    The Glenville bank holding company last month filed a lawsuit in Schenectady County Supreme Court against TJX Companies, shedding light on the financial burdens hackers are indirectly imposing on local banks and credit unions. The TrustCo Bank parent is suing the Framingham, Mass.-based TJX to recover the costs stemming from the cancellation and reissuance of MasterCard debit cards to affected customers. The breach, which TJX discovered in mid-December 2006, ended up costing the bank up to $20 per affected account.
    The suit highlights the challenges financial institutions face as they try to cope with increasingly daring hackers who steal customer information from retailers. After the Scarborough, Maine-based Hannaford Bros Co. supermarket chain became a victim of hackers, TrustCo in March reissued 13,000 cards.
    “TrustCo will continue to suffer monetary harm for the costs and expenses … as additional fraud alerts and fraud charges are occurring and are discovered,” the bank’s suit states.
    TrustCo filed the suit three months after TJX announced a $24 million settlement agreement with MasterCard International and its issuers to cover costs from the breach, during which 45.7 million credit cards were put at risk of fraud or identity theft. The settlement included financial institutions representing 99.5 percent of MasterCard accounts worldwide affected by the “unauthorized intrusion” TJX announced in mid-January 2007.
    It is not clear whether the settlement covered costs stemming from reissued credit cards or whether TrustCo participated in it. TJX spokeswoman Sherry Lang declined to comment on the TrustCo suit and MasterCard settlement.
    TrustCo Vice President and Treasurer Kevin Timmons declined to comment on the litigation or whether the bank will also respond to the Hannaford breach with a suit. Bank attorney Stephen Rehfuss could not be reached for comment.
    TrustCo was one of several Capital Region banks that responded to the TJX breach with blanket card reissuances to customers with compromised card data. SEFCU in Albany reissued 10,000 credit and debit cards to members who had recently shopped at TJX stores.
    In response to the TJX breach, Capital Communications Federal Credit Union in Albany offered affected members the option of receiving new cards. KeyBank in Cleveland only reissued cards when fraud was discovered or customers requested new ones.
    In the TJX incident, hackers broke into a company database. TrustCo accused TJX of negligence and breach of contract because the retailer allegedly kept unprotected cardholder information on its computer system. It also allegedly retained that information for periods longer than those outlined in industry standards.
    In the Hannaford breach, hackers deployed a new tactic: stealing credit and debit card numbers and expiration dates as customers made purchases at checkout counters.
    TJX last week sought to move the TrustCo case from the Supreme Court in Schenectady to U.S. District Court in Albany. Several other New England banks and banking associations are suing TJX in U.S. District Court in Boston. They are seeking over $5 million in damages.
    Earlier this month, a federal grand jury in Boston indicted 11 people who in connection with the hacking of nine major retailers, including TJX. It represents the largest identity theft and hacking case ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Just another excuse for the government to get involved....it will be an excuse for that 'all purpose' drivers license/passport/atm card/national/real ID.....

baaaaa, let's just keep mooooooving on.......