Did you shop at Bobs, Marshalls, or T.J. Maxx in 2006?

I know many of our readers did. You may want to check out this article about a massive security breach in their credit card processing center between May 2006 and December 2006.

The company does not know the extent of the breach, which was first discovered in December 2006. However, hackers may have made off with credit and debit information from transactions in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico in 2003 as well as transactions between May and December 2006, according to a company statement.

Banking officials in Massachusetts say the TJX breach is behind a recent warning by Visa to banks in Massachusetts, which have contacted customers in recent days and had to reissue thousands of ATM and debit cards. In the end, the hack may affect a wide range of credit card companies and thousands of consumers in America and in countries like the United Kingdom and Ireland, experts say.

TJX said it is working with IBM and General Dynamics to investigate the breach, which is believed to have occurred on computer systems that process and store information on customer transactions for T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and A.J. Wright.

And they say I am putting myself at risk doing all of my Christmas shopping online!