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14
IndustryUpdate
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NEWS
Dave & Buster's hackers busted
On May 12, 2008, federal prosecutors charged three men
with hacking into 11 Dave & Buster's Inc. restaurants
and stealing consumer data from credit and debit cards.
The company's restaurant in Islandia, N.Y., had information
stolen from 5,000 credit and debit cards, causing
at least $600,000 in losses.
Extent of the losses from other locations was not
immediately known. Prosecutors say the trio allegedly
hacked into the cash register terminals to acquire
"track 2" credit and debit card information that contains
cardholder account numbers and expiration dates. The
men then sold the data to others who made fraudulent
purchases.
Albert Gonzalez of Miami was indicted on one count
of wire fraud conspiracy. Maksym Yastremskiy of the
Ukraine and Aleksandr Suvorov of Estonia received a
27-count indictment that includes wire fraud conspiracy,
wire fraud, conspiracy to possess unauthorized access
devices, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft,
conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud
and interception of electronic communications.
Discover deal approved
Discover Financial Services received United States antitrust
approval to acquire the Diner's Club International
Card business from Citigroup Inc. Antitrust authorities
reviewed the $165 million deal and will take no action to
block it, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission stated in a
daily notice listing deals cleared by antitrust officials.
U.S. wire transfer improved
The Federal Reserve System and The Clearing House
Payments Co. will implement enhanced message
formats on its U.S. dollar wire transfer system, the
Fedwire Funds Service and CHIPS – The Clearing
House Interbank Payments System. This will accommodate
cover payments and payments containing business
remittance information.
"These enhancements respond to the needs of both
banks and corporations to improve efficiency in wire
transfer payments," said Lauren Hargraves, Senior Vice
President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's
Wholesale Product Office.
Chase cuts jobs, moves overseas
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will eliminate 420 call service
jobs at its Chase Sky Harbor operations center in
Phoenix over the remainder of 2008 and move some
employees overseas to its Manila, Philippines, hub.
Officials attempted to notify employees before they
learned their fate from news reports.
All of the cuts involve retail customer service positions.
Chase spokeswoman Mary Jane Rogers said the
move was a cost-cutting measure. Affected workers
will receive career counseling and priority posting for
other Chase positions in the Phoenix market and around
the globe.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Comodo removes malware free of charge
Microsoft Corp. reported a 300 percent increase in the
• The National Association of Retail and Thrift Stores, which represents more
than 2,500 stores, expects the resale market to grow at a rate of 5 percent
or more in 2008, compared to only 3.5 percent projected growth for
retail sales.
• A report published by the National Retail Federation stated a recent
Retail Horizons survey revealed that one-fourth of retailers said their
average sales figure per square foot exceeds $400.
• A survey conducted by BIGresearch LLC for the NRF said the
typical American buying graduation gifts in 2008 will shop for
two graduates and spend an average of $52.12.