FLLewis / Media City G — The Home Depot at 1200 Flower Street, Burbank September 9, 2014
The Home Depot has confirmed it was hacked. On September 2, the world’s largest home improvement chain announced an investigation, involving the Secret Service and security experts, into the attack. On Monday, September 8, Home Depot confirmed its data payment systems had been invaded by cyber thieves. The company website warns consumers who may have used credit or debit cards at its stores in the U.S. and Canada anytime in April 2014 or thereafter need to check their statements.
“We apologize for the frustration and anxiety this causes our customers, and I want to thank them for their patience and support as we work through this issue,” said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO in a news release. “We owe it to our customers to alert them that we now have enough evidence to confirm that a breach has indeed occurred. It’s important to emphasize that no customers will be responsible for fraudulent charges to their accounts.”
Reuters says “… experts fear the attackers may have gotten away with more than 40 million payment cards, which would exceed the number taken in last year’s unprecedented attack on Target Corp.” Five states, California among them, reportedly have launched a probe into the attack.
Meanwhile, Home Depot is offering customers who shopped at its stores during the past four months “free identity protection services, including credit monitoring.” Details at https://homedepot.allclearid.com or by calling 1-800-HOMEDEPOT (800-466-3337) .
