North Country Credit Card Breach

Several people who have shopped at http://www.wisebuysstores.com/news.phpWisebuys in Northern NY have had their credit cards breached. This according to the Credit Union Journal:

The victims are believed to have shopped at WiseBuys department store in December, according to Scott Wilson, president of SeaComm FCU, which has had 19 members complain of unauthorized transactions.

The credit union, located on the Canadian border, has notified 250 members who shopped at WiseBuys of the possibility that their accounts have been breached, said Wilson .

SeaComm was alerted to the situation by the New York City Police Department, which notified them they had a counterfeit credit card with the credit union’s identification on it. To date, approximately $9,200 has been charged on the credit union’s cards in greater New York . “We started investigating these disputed transactions on our own and filed a complaint with the local police,” Wilson told The Credit Union Journal Friday.

As much as $100,000 of goods have been charged on area institutions, he was told by police. “It’s much bigger than we thought,” he said. “Other financial institutions have been impacted.”

This post is not meant to hurt Wisebuys, a local department store. I've never shopped at Wisebuys but I love their new owners Hackett's. Hackett's is at least 100 years old and they are everything a department store should be. They are not the cheapest (nor the most expensive) but they only sell quality.