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IdentitySweep.com Offers Identity Theft Protection for 40 Million Victims of T.J. Maxx Security Breach
Retailer Customer Data Breach Puts Millions of Debit and Credit Card Numbers Up for Grabs
| Source: MyPublicInfo, Inc.
ARLINGTON, VA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 31, 2007 -- MyPublicInfo, Inc., the leading provider of
identity scoring and identity theft monitoring solutions for consumers, is
offering its signature IdentitySweep protection service
(www.identitysweep.com) for the estimated 40 million victims of the T.J.
Maxx data breach. Dating back to 2003 at T.J. Maxx, Marshall's and other
TJX stores, this breach has left millions of consumers potentially
vulnerable to identity theft. While the full extent of the breach is still
uncertain, it is believed that the number of exposed cards could reach or
exceed 40 million consumers across the United States and Canada, and as far
away as Hong Kong and Sweden, making it the largest breach of consumer card
information yet. The exposed debit card and PIN information is particularly
hazardous, as debit cards are not protected from liability for fraud
charges, and debit card fraud is not detected by credit monitoring.
Numerous banks and credit card issuers are already reporting instances of
fraud as a result of the stolen card information, leading to mass
cancellations and reissues of credit and debit cards to thousands of
customers. An audit of TJX's company computers found that hackers had
broken into the system and potentially accessed financial information on
credit and debit cards as well as transactions for returned merchandise.
Martin Bosworth, MyPublicInfo's Senior Copywriter and a noted expert on
identity theft, was among the consumers affected by the TJX breach.
"While credit card fraud is protected to a certain extent, the real problem
is going to be the millions of debit cards users, whose debit card number
and PIN information are now up for grabs," Bosworth said. "I was personally
affected by this breach, but was able to prevent my information from being
compromised due to my enrollment in IdentitySweep.com. Incidents such as
this prove that identity scoring succeeds where credit monitoring fails."
"Concerned consumers should look to MyPublicInfo's IdentitySweep service.
IdentitySweep is the first real-time identity management service
specifically designed to combat crimes such as the T.J. Maxx breach. The
service empowers users to proactively protect their personal information
and avert identity crimes through innovative software tools that 'sweep'
the Internet for their personal information. IdentitySweep.com searches
databases and chat rooms for Social Security numbers, credit card numbers,
and other consumer information that has been hacked, stolen or breached,"
said Dr. Harold Kraft, founder and CEO of MyPublicInfo.
About MyPublicInfo
MyPublicInfo, Inc. was founded in Arlington, Virginia in 2004 and is the
leading provider of consumer identity scoring and identity management
services. MyPublicInfo sells the most comprehensive consumer products
available through www.IdentitySweep.com and www.MyPublicInfo.com, partner
web sites, and other marketing channels. For more information or orders,
please go to www.mypublicinfo.com.