TJ Maxx credit breach is huge
TJX Companies, which runs the TJ Maxx store in Monroe and hundreds of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s stores nationwide, acknowledged today that more than 45 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen by hackers in a computer intrusion originally announced earlier this year.
Oddly, the revelation came in a 10-K report the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, though the breach is believed to be the largest in U.S. history.
What it means to you is that if you purchased anything from TJ Maxx or Marshall’s from December 2006 back to 2005, get a copy of your annual report and continually check your credit card statements for any purchases you didn’t make.
It also means that about 451,000 Americans, who returned merchandise to the stores without a receipt during the same period most likely have had their personal information stolen, such as name, address and driver’s license number. Again, check all your financial statements and if you get any strange notices in the mail or invoices from companies you’ve never done business with, or phone calls from parties trying to collect debts you’ve never incurred, report it to the Federal Trade Commission.
To try to decipher the company’s 10-K report, you can access it here.
To report ID theft to the federal government, you can fill out this online form.