New retail data breaches, including local Clearwater location.

So you though once companies like Target, Michaels, TJMax were identified that the industry would be able to tighten its security and reduce the threat. Well its not happening, and I will be the first to tell you it is not all on the retailers.  Credit Card systems and POS systems are fairly complicated systems and then tie in with internal information warehouses there are many doors to protect.

The reality is the more data we make available to the public and even private if it can be reached remotely it is at risk.  This is not unique to Retail other types of systems include Medical, Public Service (Police, Fire etc.), Military, Court, and Public Records.

As an example of how easy it is to get data today I will tell of a personal experience. Recently acquired a new car and had to Tag it in Florida.  Within three days of purchasing my tags I have received no less than 10 ads to purchase extended warranty on my 2006 car.  Not even a new vehicle.  So it is a little scary on how easy it is to gather info on people.

But this entry really was to alert individuals about the ongoing issue in the Credit Card and POS transactions.  10 News in Tampa reported that PF Chang’s Clearwater Countryside Mall was one of the latest victims of a data breach.  PF Chang’s posted a list of the 33 restaurants and an explanation of what happened on their site. The post on PF Chang’s site indicated that the information exposed included name, expiration, card number. 10 News stated in the article that if you visited any of the location to review financial records and report any fraudulent activity. Also view the security page on PF Chang’s site at  states: http://www.pfchangs.com/security.