Home Depot hack could lead to $3 billion in fake charges

Maybe Home Depot should reduce their executive salaries and hire some IT security experts.

These CEO's like to say they did everything themselves, but they sure don't do any IT work to prevent hackers.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/credit-monitoring-company-home-depot-breach-could-result-in-2b-in-fraud/

ByMitch Lipka September 16, 2014

A recent hacker attack on Home Depot (HD) could result in up to $3 billion ($3,000,000,000) in fraudulent charges, according to credit protection firm BillGuard.

BillGuard said losses will be at least $2 billion ($2,000,000,000), based on an analysis of what is known about the breach and what has happened following 16 such data leaks in the past year. Initial estimates after the Home Depot breach was first reported in early September suggested the hackers, who are thought to have sold customer payment data on the black market, had made $50 million ($50,000,000). Home Depot confirmed the breach last week.

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Based on prior thefts of customer information, BillGuard predicted that an average of $332 in fraudulent charges will be made using the stolen Home Depot accounts. And such transactions are already beginning to show up.

Charges are for as little as $5, but some customers have reported thousands of dollars being put on their cards, BillGuard said. Small charges are commonly found on cards that were accessed in a breach.

"Cardholders should be on the lookout for micro-charges, typically below $10, that they don't recognize," Samid said. "These could be card validation tests that hackers use to ensure a stolen card is still active before they sell it online. Validated cards fetch a premium on the black market. If you don't recognize it, call the number on the back of the card and let your bank know."

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