CANTON, N.Y. – Police are investigating hundreds of unauthorized Visa credit and debit card transactions at area financial institutions, the latest in a growing series of data breaches.
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.”
Officials at WiseBuys did not return phone calls seeking comment.
