ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, November 19, 1996 TAG: 9611190115
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
Credit card holders often worry a computer hacker will find his or her way into their charge accounts. One thief took the low-tech route and simply stole the whole computer.
The personal computer was taken this month from a Visa International office that processes charges on several credit card brands, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and Diners Club. Its memory included information on about 314,000 accounts, Visa spokesman David Melancon said Monday.
Some issuers, including Citibank, which had about 33,000 accounts affected, began warning customers last week. Citibank canceled their cards and issued new ones, spokeswoman Maria Mendler said.
Others, Melancon said, kept the theft quiet to avoid inconveniencing card holders. Instead, the issuers are monitoring the accounts for unusual activity.
``We immediately heightened our tracking efforts, as did these issuing companies,'' Melancon said. So far, no suspicious charges have turned up.
The computer was discovered missing from Visa's main office in Foster City, Calif., on Nov. 8. Within minutes, Visa began alerting by fax the ``many, many'' credit card issuers whose data were in the computer, Melancon said.
LENGTH: Short : 34 linesby CNB