Breach of trust

NEW YORK --If consumers were hesitant about providing personal information to retailers, they have even more reason to be paranoid as marketing firm Epsilon reported a number of breaches at several of its clients.

Over the weekend such retailers as Walgreens, Kroger and New York & Company reported that their email databases, which were hosted by Epsilon, had been breached. All three companies emphasized that no more than names and emails were obtained and that sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, were safe. The companies did urge customers not to open emails from unfamiliar senders and reminded them that they would never ask for personal information over email.

According to reports, Capital One, Citi and the Home Shopping Network also had their Epsilon email databases breached.