SunTrust Banks Notifies Customers About Heartland Compromise
Sun Trust, a Southern banking corporation, ($179 billion in assets) mailed its Florida customers letters this week regarding SunTrust bank cards that were compromised in the Heartland Payment Systems breach that was first made public on January 20. The bank has 551 branches in the state and a total of 1,694 branches in 12 southern states. The letter informed customers that their personal information may have been compromised.In the letter, Sun Trust Bank says it is issuing new cards with new numbers. Atlanta, GA-based Sun Trust spokesperson Hugh Suhr says the bank won't reveal how many of its customers were affected. But Suhr says these letters were only some of the notification letters sent to customers. Suhr explains that it took several months to mail out the letters, and the bank began mailing customers when first notified after Visa notified them after the January 20 public notification. Suhr adds Sun Trust first notified customers who were immediately affected by the compromise by fraudulent activity on their cards. No other details were available from the bank.
The addition of Sun Trust to the list of financial institutions brings the total number of affected institutions to more than 625. Sun Trust is the 17th institution in Florida to report being affected by the Heartland breach.