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from Philadelphia Inquirer on Friday, February 21, 2003

PNC Bank is replacing 1,700 Visa check cards because someone gained access to the numbers.

PNC Bank said yesterday that it deactivated about 1,700 Visa check cards used by area customers after Visa notified the bank Wednesday that a computer hacker gained access to the check-card numbers.

It was not clear yesterday whether standard credit cards also were affected.

The hacker did not break into PNC's system, but into the system of Data Processors International Inc., an Omaha, Neb., firm that processes transactions for credit-card companies.

Visa check cards act like debit cards, in which funds for purchases come directly from checking accounts.

PNC spokesman Matt Cabrey said the bank deactivated a total of about 9,500 Visa check cards. PNC has customers in six states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Cabrey said PNC had received few calls from customers about the matter.

To fix the problem, PNC is contacting cardholders, and is issuing new check cards immediately, he said. "We explain to them that their existing Visa check card has been deactivated and a new card has been sent," Cabrey said.

Wachovia Corp., which is merging with First Union Bank, the biggest bank in the Philadelphia area, said Visa contacted it about the hacker problem earlier this week.

"We're working with [Visa] to make sure our customers are taken care of appropriately," Wachovia spokeswoman Jennifer Darwin said. She declined to say whether any check cards used by First Union customers had been affected.

Holders of cards issued by other banks also may have been hit. All told, millions of card holders around the country were affected by the hacker, who has not been identified. Holders of MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards also were included.

The credit-card companies have policies in place that protect card holders from liability for fraudulent use of their accounts.

Data Processors International also said that the FBI and the Secret Service were investigating the matter, but that it could not discuss the details.

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