St.Mary's Bank reissue debit cards after merchant data breach

St. Mary’s Bank has initiated the process for issuing new debit cards and ATM PINs to over 5000 customers in a response to a merchant-related breach.

The bank had noticed peculiar activities in certain accounts, which were small transactions viz. $99. 

This was taken as small purchases at locations near New Hampshire and hence was not taken seriously. When the matter was taken into consideration, the officials were able to shut the compromised cards and later the matter was further investigated.

The cards were being hacked at a national retailer, from where the numbers were being sold online. After which, the accounts were tracked and phony numbers were tied to the real accounts, causing illegal access to all the accounts. 

Elizabeth Stodolski, vice president of marketing, said the bank has taken a precaution by cancelling a total of 5,029 debit cards to prevent further fraudulent transactions to take place. The old cards have been deactivated and all the customers have been personally notified about the current situation and the protocols in action.

All the customers have been asked to go to their nearest branch and get reimbursed for their losses, for which St. Mary’s Bank has taken full responsibility. 

The reports did not specify what merchants were affected and how they got compromised.  Often, Cyber criminals use POS malware or skimming device to get the card details.   

But, the question is what if suppose cyber criminals again compromise the card information. Are banks going to provide new cards again?