Tjx Companies Inc

TJX Cos., which operates the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, reported a 6% decline in third-quarter profit as unfavorable exchange rates and a tough economy crimped results for the discount apparel retailer. The company also forecast a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and cut its fiscal 2009 outlook. Profit declined to $235.8 million for the three-month period ended Oct. 25. That compares with $249.5 million in the year-earlier period.

TJX Cos., operator of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls discount stores, said its computer systems were hacked in mid-December and customer data had been stolen. TJX said the extent of the intrusion was not yet known. It said the break-in was kept confidential upon the request of law enforcement officials.

Customer data stolen by computer hackers from TJX Cos. has been used to make fraudulent debit card and credit card purchases in the U.S. and overseas, the Massachusetts Bankers Assn. said. The fraudulent purchases have been made in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, and overseas in Hong Kong and Sweden, the association said. Last week, TJX said hackers had broken into a system that handles credit and debit card transactions as well as checks and merchandise returns.

TJX Cos., a discount retailer that operates the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, said an unauthorized intrusion into its computer systems might have occurred beginning in July 2005, almost a year earlier than the company previously believed. Credit and debit card data from transactions in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada between January 2003 and June 2004 may have been compromised, Framingham, Mass.-based TJX said.

You didn't get just low prices at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, you also had a good chance of getting your credit card information and other personal data stolen. You can hardly live without credit and debit cards these days, but there are steps that can be taken to ward off the perils of identity theft, privacy experts say, even if caused by a giant information leak from some remote, windowless computer center. The stakes are high.

Groups representing 300 banks plan to file a class-action lawsuit against U.S. retailer TJX Cos. over a security breach involving data from millions of credit and debit cards. The lawsuit, to be filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston by the Massachusetts Bankers Assn., will seek at least "tens of millions of dollars" in damages, said Bruce Spitzer, a spokesman for the association. Framingham, Mass.-based TJX, which operates the T.J.

TJX Cos. said it and Fifth Third Bancorp had agreed to settle class-action lawsuits brought on behalf of customers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada who were victims of a criminal intrusion into TJX's computer system. Under the settlement, customers of TJX stores who had their driver's license or other identification information stolen after making returns without a receipt are being offered two to three years of credit monitoring and identity theft insurance and the cost of replacing IDs.

At least 94 million Visa and MasterCard accounts may have been exposed to potential fraud in a data breach at TJX Cos., nearly double the previous estimate by the discount retailer. The figure was included in court filings this week that cited executives from the credit card associations. The filings in a bank case against TJX indicated that fraud-related losses involving Visa cards alone range from $68 million to $83 million, spread across 13 countries.

TJX Cos. said its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 8%, and the off-price retailer slightly boosted its earnings forecast for the fourth quarter. The company also outlined long-term plans to expand by nearly 1,000 stores, and TJX's shares rose nearly 4%. The owner of more than 2,500 discount stores, including T.J.

Retail giant TJX Cos. agreed Tuesday to pay $9.75 million to 41 states including California to settle an investigation of a massive data breach that jeopardized millions of payment card numbers. TJX, the parent company of the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls discount clothing chains, will pay $7.25 million in settlement and investigation costs. In addition, $2.5 million will go to create a data security fund for those states. California's share is $624,393.