Eleven Charged With Identity Theft

San Francisco The Department of Justice on Tuesday charged 11 people, including residents of at least five different countries, with identity theft, including theft and resale of credit- and debit-card account information, according to a statement from the department.

The perpetrators allegedly stole more than 40 million debit- and credit-card numbers, targeting major retailers such as Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, BJ's Wholesale Club, Barnes and Noble, Sports Authority, Boston Market, Office Max, Dave and Busters restaurants, DSW shoe stores and Forever 21. They used sophisticated computer hacking techniques to breach security systems and installed programs that gathered large quantities of personal financial data which were then used or sold to others, the department said.