Payment processing company Visa has received notification of a possible security breach in the database of a processor in Europe, according to Catalin Cretu, the general manager of Visa Europe for Romania. The statement came soon after Romanian bank CEC Bank blocked 17,000 cards on suspicions of a security breach.

“An investigation started to this end and we are working closely with banks to make sure card holders are protected,” said Catalin Cretu.

“Card holders should pay attention to their accounts and report any suspect or unusual activity. Innocent victims of this fraud will get their money back, based on the terms of the banks which issued the card,” the Visa Europe GM for Romania went on.

The Romanian Banks Association on Wednesday ( December 14 ) announced it received notifications from several banks that had been warned about a security breach from a European processor, which might have led to information leakage on transaction data. Banks did not expect card holders to be affected.

editor@romania-insider.com