Feds Probe Overseas In Latest CardsBreach

WASHINGTON - (02/27/06) – Both federal and internationallaw enforcement agencies have shifted their focus in the broadeningdebit card fraud investigation to international locations wheretransactions have been posted on accounts held by U.S. credit unionand bank customers. U.S. credit unions have reported unauthorizedtransactions on member accounts coming from locations as disparateas Russia, Lithuania, South Korea, Spain and England over the lastfew months, with new locales continuing to surface, law enforcementsources said last week. And the growing incidents of potentialfraud grew again last week when Hawaii Centrall CU said itcancelled hundreds of Visa cards it believes may have beencompromised. Authorities are investigating whether similar breachesinvolving cards in northern California, New York, Washington, D.C,Virginia, South Carolina, Texas and Florida are connected. Creditunion executives contacted by law enforcement say they were toldthe breach may have occurred at two national retailers, but havebeen forbidden to disclose publicly which companies areinvolved.