Exposed: 4.2 Million Credit and Debit Accounts!

It's never cool to have your credit card records stolen. Take for example what happened to Kurt Cobain! Or, a new twist on credit record theft is medical record theft (a la Invasion of The Body Snatcher's). MainStreet wants to keep you and your records safe, so click on this link.

That bag full of groceries just cost you a lot more than you bargained for!

A little more than a year after an estimated 94 million credit and debit card records were stolen from TJX Companies (TJX) , owner of such chains as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, a related security breakdown has consumers on alert again. This time some 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers were exposed in a Hannaford Bros. computer system breach (DEG).  The retailer owns and operates the Hannaford supermarket chains on the east coast, and Sweetbay stores in Florida.

The breach was reportedly detected on February 27, and is expected to be the cause of at least 1,800 cases of fraud. In a statement posted on his company's website, Ron Hodge, the Hannaford Bros. CEO, advised customers to “carefully review their credit and debit card statements over the past three months and to contact the issuing institution immediately in the event of any irregularity.”  The company has a customer assistance hotline, too.

Hannaford is also working with the credit and debit card issuers in attempts to protect anyone whose personal information may have been accessed. "All major card brands are accepted by the retailer and are impacted by the compromise,”  says Jay Hopkins, a spokesperson for Visa (V). “[We are] in the process of providing card issuers the compromised accounts so they can take steps to protect consumers through independent fraud monitoring and, if needed, reissuing cards."