News Alert!  Heartland Data Breach

Nearly two dozen new institutions have come forward and informed their customers that their credit or debit cards were among those compromised in the Heartland Payment Systems (HPY) breach.
Heartland, the sixth-largest payments processor in the U.S., announced on Jan. 20, 2009 that its processing systems were breached in 2008, exposing an undetermined number of consumers to potential fraud.

What do you do if your bank or credit union was among those whose debit or credit card information was stolen?

1 Do NOT respond to any emails from anyone requesting bank account numbers, social security numbers, or ANY financial information from you.

2 Do NOT give out any information to anyone who calls requesting bank information, account numbers, social security numbers, or ANY financial information from you.  NEVER give any information like this to anyone over the telephone. 

3 Banks are notifying customers by regular U.S. mail.  If your information was stolen, your bank will send you a letter to notify you that your financial information was stolen.

4 Here is a list of  banks linked to this breach so far:

Adams Bank & Trust, Grant, NE
Arkansas County Bank, Stuttgart, AR
BancFirst, Oklahoma City, OK
Bank of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK
Bellwether Community Credit Union, Manchester, NH
CU Community Credit Union, Springfield, MO
Farmers and Merchants Bank, Stuttgart, AR
First Bank Blue Earth, Blue Earth, MN
Innovations Federal Credit Union, Bay County, FL
Monroe Bank & Trust, Monroe, MI
Platte Valley Bank, Scottsbluff, NE
Sovereign Bank, Northeast U.S.
St. Mary's Bank, Manchester, NH
State Employee's Credit Union (SECU), Raleigh, NC
Summit Federal Credit Union, Rochester, NY
The Bank of Fayetteville, Fayetteville AR
The Central National Bank and Trust Company of Enid, OK
Triangle Credit Union, Nashua, NH
Trustmark Bank, Jackson, MS
Valley Bank & Trust, Gering, NE
Wells Federal Bank, Wells, MN

What do you do if you are concerned that your information might have been stolen?

1  Call or visit your bank or credit union and talk to someone about the Heartland Payment Systems breach;

2  Review your monthly bank statements very carefully;

3  Review your credit card statements very carefully;

4  Get a copy of your credit report and check it carefully.  Look for credit checks you have not authorized.

What do you do if you think your identity has been stolen?

For more help contact Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma and ask for the Identity Theft Department:

Call  1-918-584-3338 or call 1-800-299-3338