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Data Stolen In Target Breach Now For Sale On Black Market

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The security breach at Target was massive -- $40 million debit and credit card accounts hacked.

"I had heard about it, and I thought naïvely that I wouldn't be affected," said Tom Buell, a Target breach victim.

Buell was one of the unlucky ones. His bank called to say his card had been compromised and cancelled.

KDKA's Susan Koeppen: "How was your data used?"

Buell: "They said that at a 7-Eleven in Florida someone tried to make a $58 purchase and they flagged it because I had just had lunch in Pittsburgh."

So, how did Buell's debit card information get from a breach at Target to a crook using it a 7- Eleven? All of that stolen information is now up for sale on the black market.

Nicolas Christin is a cyber-security expert at Carnegie Mellon University.

Koeppen: "How many credit card numbers are for sale right now online?"

Christin: "We are talking dozens of millions at least."

He showed just one site where stolen credit and debit card numbers are the commodity.

Koeppen: "So all of these cards you are scrolling are issued in Pittsburgh?"

Christin: "In Pittsburgh."

Koeppen: "And they are all stolen and up for sale?"

Christin: "All stolen and up for sale."

There were thousands of them - Visa, Mastercard, Amex - from banks like PNC, Huntington and Dollar.

Christin: "This is filling up already six pages."

Koeppen: "Six pages of credit cards?"

Christin: "Six pages of credit and debit cards just from Pittsburgh."

Your personal information may be priceless to you -- but on this site -- your debit card is selling for about $20. It was on a site like this where someone bought Buell's data.

"It's mind boggling," said Buell. "I guess you can buy anything on the Internet now; and credit card numbers are just another commodity.

There's not much consumers can do to avoid becoming a victim of a breach - anyone who shops with plastic is at risk.

"Long story short. The cash register got broken into," said Christin. "How can you protect against that as a user? You use cash, that's all you can do."

RELATED LINKS:
More News on the Target Breach
More Consumer News
More Reports by Susan Koeppen

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