Canadian banks say no signs of credit card fraud victims after Winners breach

Several Canadian banks said Thursday they have had no reports of credit card fraud after a security breach at the parent company of Winners and HomeSense.

Officials at Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal, and TD Bank all told CBC News that they have seen no cases of fraud stemming from the breach at Massachusetts-based TJX Cos. Visa officials in Canada also said they have not seen cases of abuse from the case.

In an interview with CBC News, RBC spokeswoman Beja Rodeck encouraged customers to examine their accounts for any signs of credit card fraud. She added that customers will not be held responsible in cases of fraudulent use of their cards.

Customer information stolen from TJX has been used to make fraudulent debit and credit card purchases, the Massachusetts Bankers Association confirmed Wednesday. The fraudulent purchases were made in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, as well as in Hong Kong and Sweden, the association said.

While the association made no mention of Canada, the Globe and Mail, quoting financial sources, reported Thursday that thousands of Canadians are indeed among the fraud victims.

Last week, TJX said hackers stole customer information from its computer systems.
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The company has refused to say how many customers had their data stolen or accessed by a computer hacker, but the Globe and Mail reported it could be two million Visa credit card accounts in Canada and roughly 20 million worldwide.

The Massachusetts Bankers Association said it has heard from 60 of its 205 member banks and is expecting the number of fraud cases to grow.

TJX has not commented on these latest reports.

The company is considering offering free credit card monitoring to customers whose cards have been exposed.

A customer alert notification remains on the company's website — including on the Winners and HomeSense sites in Canada — advising people to find out whether they have been victims of fraud.