Bank of America pulls some Visa cards

updated 6:30 p.m. ET Feb. 10, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bank of America Corp. has withdrawn an undetermined number of Visa cards because of concerns about a security breach with a merchant, a company spokeswoman said Friday.

“We are in the process of notifying some customers,” said Betty Riess, a spokeswoman for the nation’s second-largest bank.

The Charlotte-based bank declined to reveal the number of cards that were withdrawn or the location of the customers. Riess also declined to name the merchant.

“Security for our customers and the bank is a top priority and we will do what we have to do to protect our customers and the bank,” she said.

“It’s standard procedure to do this if we see misuse or potential misuse of a customer’s card,” Riess said. “We can block them and reissue new cards.”

Visa USA said that the compromised merchant is based in the United States, but did not identify it.

In February 2005, Bank of America revealed that it lost computer data tapes containing personal information on 1.2 million federal employees, including some members of the U.S. Senate.

Three months later, Bank of America and Charlotte-based Wachovia Corp. notified about 100,000 customers that their financial records may have been stolen by bank employees and sold to collection agencies.

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