The Home Depot Reports 56-Million Payment Cards Impacted By Breach
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The Home Depot estimated Thursday that a cyber attack earlier in the year affected 56-million unique payment cards.
The Atlanta-based retailer's officials said the company has eliminated the malware behind the attacks that took place between April and September.
Andrew Myones from North Miami believes he was victimized by the hackers.
Watch Gaby Fleischman's report, click here.
"I took out my phone to log into my account and check my balance and I noticed two pending transactions for $200 each from Home Depot which was kind of strange because I was actually driving to Marco Island on Friday when this supposedly happened," said Myones.
He says another transaction for $300 at a Kendall Home Depot that he's never shopped at was flagged by his bank and didn't go through.
"It was pretty alarming," said Myones. "In hear a lot about these types of things happening more and more and the fact that it happened to me... I was relieved the transactions weren't for more money because they could have drained my entire account."
The breach is bigger than the attack on Target last year and could end up costing The Home Depot $3 billion in fraud losses.
The company's CEO Frank Blake issued a statement saying: "We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and anxiety this has caused, and want to reassure them that they will not be liable for fraudulent charges."
Myones disputed his fraudulent charges with his bank and says he will get the cash credited back into his checking account.
According to The Home Depot, it has completed a "major" payment security project that provides enhanced encryption of customers' payment data in the company's U.S. stores.
The investigation into a possible breach began September 2 after The Home Depot received reports from its banking partners and law enforcement that criminals may have breached its systems.
There is no evidence that debit PIN were compromised according to officials.
The Home Depot is offering free identity protection services, including credit monitoring, to any customer who used a payment card at a Home Depot store in 2014, from April on. Customers who wish to take advantage of these services can learn more at www.homedepot.com or by calling 1-800-HOMEDEPOT (800-466-3337).
The company is says its sales-growth estimates for the fiscal year and expects to earn $4.54 per share in fiscal 2014, up 2 cents from its prior guidance, but is also cautioning that shareholders could be liable for a laundry list of expenses due to the breach.
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