Thousands of credit cards have been cancelled by major banks in Australia after a security breach left them vulnerable to fraud. St George Bank said a merchant's credit card payment terminal in a business was compromised, but declined to reveal which merchant operated the terminal or which bank was directly affected. It is highly probable that it was the Commonwealth Bank since they took drastic steps cancelling around 8,000 credit cards and re-issuing cards "as a matter of priority".
"The bank continuously monitors all credit card transactions to protect our customers from fraud and during this process we became aware of a potential credit card compromise," Commonwealth Bank spokesman Steve Batten said.
Also affected during the breach were National Australia Bank, Westpac, and St George. Westpac and St George are said to have cancelled and reissued ''a small number of cards'' but they said that its security systems does not appear to have been comprised.
Of course the bank’s customers will not be liable for any stolen funds or fees incurred as a result of the card cancellations but it will be extremely inconvenient for everyone involved.
As always, stay tuned to Credit Cards Professor for more news and updates.
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