TKMaxx in 'largest' credit card cyber theft

Customers at TKMAxx discount stores were urged to check their credit card statements after millions of credit card details were stolen from the American company that owns the chain.

Over a two year period hackers have taken a record 45.7 million customers details from TJX Companies, the owners of the UK’s TKMAxx.

TJX Companies disclosed the extent of the cyber crime to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and revealed that hackers first installed harvesting software in its computer systems in July 2005.

Customers who gave TKMAxx their details by making a debit card or credit card transaction at one of the chains 210 UK shops between January 2003 and June 2004 may have been affected.

Avivah Litan, an analyst with research company Gartner, said: "This is the largest security breach we’ve ever had worldwide. There was a case at CardSystems where 40 million records were exposed but this one looks like it was a case where the information was stolen."

This news comes weeks after the Association for Payment Clearing Services said that there had been a drop in credit card cloning, but that there were increases in card-not-present fraud.