Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues

Friday, February 24th, 2012 5:26PM CST

Category: Collector's Club News
Posted by: El Duque Views: 32,210

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Earlier this month, Seibertron.com was the first Transformers fansite to warn it's members to be on the look out for suspicious credit card activity after several Energon Pub and Staff members were hit with fraudulent charges shortly after placing orders for TFCC 2012 exclusives Over-Run and Shattered Glass Drift. After weeks of analysis Fun Publications, the parent company of TFCC, has determined there is a security issue with their e-commerce system. They have issued the following apology and statement/e-mail to all members:

This is going out to all members:

Fun Publications wants to take this opportunity to apologize to all of our members.

After many days of analysis, Fun Publications has determined that there is a security issue with our e-commerce systems. We appreciate all of you who have sent in your details. Your help has allowed us to ferret out several different patterns of fraudulent charges that have appeared on some members' cards (any that have been used over the last year with both the club store and our event registration system).

We have several different internet/networking companies looking into the matter. Unfortunately, as of yet, we have not been able to identify any forcible entry either into our internet service provider's servers or network. This is like chasing a ghost through the wires, as unfortunately, the perpetrator did not leave a trail, foot prints or finger prints.

For those of you who have been affected, we apologize for all of your time this has wasted and any inconvenience it has caused you. We understand your frustration as this same type of fraud has happened to everyone in our office on our personal credit cards at some point in the past. Our merchant services provider wants us to remind everyone that even though this can be a huge annoyance for you, the customer, your issuing bank will not hold you responsible for any fraudulent charges that might be placed on your card(s).

We know that this issue has been a huge topic of discussion on all of the boards for the past few weeks. However, we are required to investigate to determine and confirm a security issue thoroughly before making any public statements. This is why we put out a general alert statement two weeks ago.

Until the analysis is finished (can take several weeks) we don't know if the shut down by our former (Jan 31st) e-commerce provider caused the security issue or not. We do know that it has not been limited to those who have purchased before the change to our new provider.

Please, watch your cards closely as this type of security issue appears to be on the increase across the net. No site is 100% safe. You may want to consider having any cards you have used with Fun Publications in the last year replaced.

At this time, we do not know how long our e-commerce site will be offline for both the store and registrations. We will get back to you once we have a solution for this security issue.

Thanks for your support - Brian

Credit(s): Fun Publications

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Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351331)
Posted by Banjo-Tron on February 24th, 2012 @ 5:31pm CST

oops

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351340)
Posted by NebulanFree on February 24th, 2012 @ 5:44pm CST

"Sorry about your luck to those who got screwed, but after weeks of super-sleuthing, we at FunPubs still have no clue about any of this mess. It might not even have anything to do with us. Our solution is to shut down completely. See you at BotCon!"

:APPLAUSE:

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351347)
Posted by Mkall on February 24th, 2012 @ 5:53pm CST

Thank you for the response. It's precisely what I was hoping, and expecting to see on all this.

NebulanFree wrote:"Sorry about your luck to those who got screwed, but after weeks of super-sleuthing, we at FunPubs still have no clue about any of this mess.

Welcome to the world of cybercrime. More often than not the perp gets away.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351374)
Posted by bionic_radical on February 24th, 2012 @ 7:14pm CST

Thaaaat pretty much CEMENTS Swindle into the Hall of Fame this year.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351376)
Posted by Stormrider on February 24th, 2012 @ 7:15pm CST

It's cool to send out a statement so folks know what to expect.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351381)
Posted by G1 Legacy on February 24th, 2012 @ 7:41pm CST

This seems like a typical P.R. spiel, all words and no real solution. But hey, atleast their owning up to it at this point instead of seemingly keeping their heads buried in the sand.

OK sooo, I need some advice guys (and gals): I was planning to get a TFCC membership this past month to get the Runamuck figure, but all this Credit Card ID theft stuff has REALLY scared the hell out of me, so I backed off to silently watch how all of this was gonna play out. With Botcon fast approaching I don't have time to deal with the hassle that would come along with having to re-set a card number etc. But I already missed out on the "Over-Run" pre-order figure and have been reduced to having to get it on the secondary market...I really don't wanna have to do that again with Runamuck so I'm having this internal struggle on whether or not to go ahead and risk joining TFCC, I mean isn't March 15 the deadline for the Runamuck figure? I don't know if I should risk it. Oh why oh why can't they just take Paypal? LOL

Thanks in advance gang!

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351384)
Posted by LiKwid on February 24th, 2012 @ 7:48pm CST

Hmmm..I think im gonna save my opinion and take the higher road and say..Thanks fun pub..

*moderate sarcasm... :BANG_HEAD:

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351385)
Posted by AutobotCliffjumper on February 24th, 2012 @ 7:51pm CST

Looking forward to seeing, "We are sorry and for your trouble, we would like to send each one of you an TFCC exclusive Swindle-d!" lol

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351396)
Posted by GetRightRobot on February 24th, 2012 @ 8:19pm CST

H O L Y S H * T

I can't believe it. Thank you. Thank you for being a stand up company and accepting responsibilities. And to do it on your volition. Without any outcry from innocent consumers or nothin! :APPLAUSE:

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351414)
Posted by Burn on February 24th, 2012 @ 9:17pm CST

G1 Legacy wrote:This seems like a typical P.R. spiel, all words and no real solution. But hey, atleast their owning up to it at this point instead of seemingly keeping their heads buried in the sand.

OK sooo, I need some advice guys (and gals): I was planning to get a TFCC membership this past month to get the Runamuck figure, but all this Credit Card ID theft stuff has REALLY scared the hell out of me, so I backed off to silently watch how all of this was gonna play out. With Botcon fast approaching I don't have time to deal with the hassle that would come along with having to re-set a card number etc. But I already missed out on the "Over-Run" pre-order figure and have been reduced to having to get it on the secondary market...I really don't wanna have to do that again with Runamuck so I'm having this internal struggle on whether or not to go ahead and risk joining TFCC, I mean isn't March 15 the deadline for the Runamuck figure? I don't know if I should risk it. Oh why oh why can't they just take Paypal? LOL

Thanks in advance gang!

Same boat. I went out and got a pre-paid credit card. They can only take whatever money is on it and I plan to only put on enough to cover expenses. So if it were to get hit they wouldn't get anything.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351424)
Posted by Rated X on February 24th, 2012 @ 9:41pm CST

G1 Legacy wrote:This seems like a typical P.R. spiel, all words and no real solution. But hey, atleast their owning up to it at this point instead of seemingly keeping their heads buried in the sand.

OK sooo, I need some advice guys (and gals): I was planning to get a TFCC membership this past month to get the Runamuck figure, but all this Credit Card ID theft stuff has REALLY scared the hell out of me, so I backed off to silently watch how all of this was gonna play out. With Botcon fast approaching I don't have time to deal with the hassle that would come along with having to re-set a card number etc. But I already missed out on the "Over-Run" pre-order figure and have been reduced to having to get it on the secondary market...I really don't wanna have to do that again with Runamuck so I'm having this internal struggle on whether or not to go ahead and risk joining TFCC, I mean isn't March 15 the deadline for the Runamuck figure? I don't know if I should risk it. Oh why oh why can't they just take Paypal? LOL

Thanks in advance gang!

Call the Funpub phone number and ask Angie if you can send a money order. Is she says yes, send it pronto. If she says no, youre outta gas buddy. If you are that paranoid, maybe you should just buy Runamuck on the secondary market and have peace of mind. Whats better, spending $100 on a figure or having $1000 worth of credit fraud ? Not trying to be harsh, but it's a no brainer.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351425)
Posted by Kibble on February 24th, 2012 @ 9:43pm CST

Burn wrote:
G1 Legacy wrote:This seems like a typical P.R. spiel, all words and no real solution. But hey, atleast their owning up to it at this point instead of seemingly keeping their heads buried in the sand.

OK sooo, I need some advice guys (and gals): I was planning to get a TFCC membership this past month to get the Runamuck figure, but all this Credit Card ID theft stuff has REALLY scared the hell out of me, so I backed off to silently watch how all of this was gonna play out. With Botcon fast approaching I don't have time to deal with the hassle that would come along with having to re-set a card number etc. But I already missed out on the "Over-Run" pre-order figure and have been reduced to having to get it on the secondary market...I really don't wanna have to do that again with Runamuck so I'm having this internal struggle on whether or not to go ahead and risk joining TFCC, I mean isn't March 15 the deadline for the Runamuck figure? I don't know if I should risk it. Oh why oh why can't they just take Paypal? LOL

Thanks in advance gang!

Same boat. I went out and got a pre-paid credit card. They can only take whatever money is on it and I plan to only put on enough to cover expenses. So if it were to get hit they wouldn't get anything.

You could do that or it sounds like Paypal offers a similar deal where they offer a 'credit card' off your paypal account that you feed it money or something. I haven't looked too much into it, but I probably will in the not too distant future.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351440)
Posted by G1 Legacy on February 24th, 2012 @ 10:16pm CST

Rated-X Wrote:

Whats better, spending $100 on a figure or having $1000 worth of credit fraud ? Not trying to be harsh, but it's a no brainer.

Oh, I totally agree. There was even a guy on ebay that was selling both togetheir in the box set, but he was still mailing them seperatly as they would be released, which left me thinking I would be a fool not to atleast look into getting the runamuck at cost first and then opting for the 'ol screwgie if that didn't work. LOL I guess what I was trying to ask was, is there anyone who is more familiar with this situation or has their ear along the track/rail that might be able to say one way or the other if they thought TFCC is safe to deal with now...and the answer I'm getting from everyones mood seems to be NAY. But I trust your input "X". No "counterpunch" required here.

Burn wrote:

Same boat. I went out and got a pre-paid credit card.

Kibble wrote:

Paypal offers a similar deal where they offer a 'credit card' off your paypal account that you feed it money or something. I haven't looked too much into it, but I probably will in the not too distant future.

I think this or a pre-paid card in general is a great idea. And is probobly the way I'll go next week. I think I can pick one up at Wal-Mart (even though I try to go there as little as possible). Thanks again for everyone's input.

Anyway, I hope TFCC can get this resolved to everyones satisfaction soon.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351447)
Posted by autobot_goldbug on February 24th, 2012 @ 10:42pm CST

I heard right now they can't process any credit cards.

Anyway a virtual credit card would be a good option.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01679.html
Paypal isn't any safer.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351456)
Posted by Megatron Wolf on February 24th, 2012 @ 11:08pm CST

why dont they just say "sorry you guys got screwed over we're looking into it and good luck fixing your cards" instead of dishing out the same PR bullshit everyone else does

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351482)
Posted by metaphorge on February 25th, 2012 @ 12:37am CST

I'm hoping that this is fixed before the renew-to-get-Runamuck deadline passes, or if not they extend the deadline. It wuld suck for people to miss the free figure because of someone else's weak security.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351544)
Posted by Primacron's Little Helper on February 25th, 2012 @ 8:11am CST

About a week after I bought Over-Run I got a phone call from my bank saying that there had been some suspicious activity on my account, luckily they declined it but someone had tried to use my account to buy something from Yahoo.

I got a new card no problems so props to my bank, they were on the ball. Imagine if this was a major retailer or an airline perhaps, they'd be a laughing stock.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351670)
Posted by Bed Bugs on February 25th, 2012 @ 1:59pm CST

I've avoided the fraud bullet on this current fiasco so far....(was hit with TFSource when that happened).

I have been checking my credit card daily, just in case.

I'm very annoyed and kind of disappointed a little that I won't be at Botcon. Would be quite entertaining to see the rage that shows up in person, or if the majority of collectors only talk tough online.

Regardless, I look forward to hearing about the Club Roundtable and how that goes. Would be nice if they web-casted it on behalf of "Club Members" rather than Botcon Attendees to discuss the current problems with the Club.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351835)
Posted by ae_productions on February 25th, 2012 @ 10:06pm CST

I just got hit last night.

I only used my card to sign up to TFCC (my first and probably last time) to get Rumamuck and Runabout.

Tried to use my card today and there was a TON of charges from "google". My card is frozen until I get a new one (2 - 4 weeks) and I have to wait for the funds to clear from the fraudulent charges before I can dispute them (2 - 5 business days).

Many of my pals who ordered the exclusive figures have gotten theirs. So far I have not gotten anything. (Except for a frozen cc and a bunch of unauthorized charges). I hope at least get my two figures out of this. It would really piss me off if they messed up on my order and I get nothing but the stolen ID from it.

Color me not very impressed with this whole mess.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351934)
Posted by harrogatebantam31 on February 26th, 2012 @ 7:06am CST

My old card got hit, sounds like it was due to renewing my membership. Got a new card.

Purchased over-run before the system crashed. Then got hit again on my new card.

Recieved a call from by bank on Friday asking if I'd bought $415.00 worth of tyres in the US, along with payment to a kareoke firm in New Jersey?!

Second time in 3 months I've been hit, I certainly won't be buying anything else or renewing my membership until they can confirm they have sorted the issue, or offer a method such as PayPal as an alternative.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1351951)
Posted by Stormrider on February 26th, 2012 @ 8:57am CST

Fraudulent charges and identity theft are becoming a huge pain. Part of the problem is that it's near impossible to catch the thieves and the penalties are not harsh enough when they do.

I got my identity stolen two years ago, which is much worse than fraudulent charges. The thief had opened over $60,000 in credit cards and loans and destroyed my credit history. He had applied to over 70 store credit and loans. And I only found out the fraudulent accounts when collection agencies began contacting me a year later. Anyway, the point is that the thief was caught (a very rare thing). And even though he is a repeat offender and a convicted felon, he most likely will only receive a slap on the wrist from the courts.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1352221)
Posted by bvzxa on February 26th, 2012 @ 8:24pm CST

Stormrider wrote:Fraudulent charges and identity theft are becoming a huge pain. Part of the problem is that it's near impossible to catch the thieves and the penalties are not harsh enough when they do.

I got my identity stolen two years ago, which is much worse than fraudulent charges. The thief had opened over $60,000 in credit cards and loans and destroyed my credit history. He had applied to over 70 store credit and loans. And I only found out the fraudulent accounts when collection agencies began contacting me a year later. Anyway, the point is that the thief was caught (a very rare thing). And even though he is a repeat offender and a convicted felon, he most likely will only receive a slap on the wrist from the courts.

My heart goes out to you. I got hit last year. And what sucks is I ordered on the supposed upgrade to the TFCC credit card system.

I'm sorry but apologizing just doesn't cut it. Why??

Yeah it's nice to hear we admit we had a problem, but either way you got your $100+ regardless of whether your company got hit. Who is the real loser, us. I stayed away for a year and really didn't miss anything, decide to comeback and may get screwed by the pooch. That's why I am leaving the TF community because it's getting bad. First we can't sleep at night wondering if we're gonna lose any money, then we get FE figures in a sh*tty release and now we get inferior molds because Hasbro is a bloodsucker.

I get any fraudulent charges I am gonna exercise my American right to sue.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1352342)
Posted by Simes on February 27th, 2012 @ 4:01am CST

To allay any possible concerns people may have, bookings for Auto Assembly 2012 are still open and have been unaffected by any credit / debit card fraud since the convention started in 2000.

We have been using PayPal to handle all our transactions safely since 2004 and are happy to offer alternative methods of payment for anyone wishing to attend the convention if you are concerned about paying using any electronic method but we can assure you that none of our team have access to any of your credit card details or any of your personal details other than your name, address and email address which we need for the purpose of the convention itself.

Simon Plumbe
Auto Assembly Committee Head

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1352847)
Posted by Banjo-Tron on February 28th, 2012 @ 6:22am CST

Thought I got through this unscathed, but resolved to cancel my card anyway in case. I rang my bank today. Aparently they were trying to get through to me, because in the last week they had blocked hundreds of attempts to use my card. Loads of transactions traced back to Ohio, plus some from all over Europe. If my bank hadn't been proactive, I would now have about £1500 of fraudulent charges on my card. One errant charge for around £10 got through.

To say I'm cross is somewhat of an understatement. Would love to be at Botcon to give FunPub what for. I think It's high time that Hasbro made a statement like this, as their brand is being damaged indirectly, as well. Should Hasbro allow FunPub to keep their license in the light of this? The way I see it, FunPub owes us all a lot more than a pithy apology. :-x

On a positive note, I did get my Runamuck today, and he is nice indeed. It's just a shame that what is an awesome exclusive has been marred by a laundry list of amateur mistakes.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1352861)
Posted by Delicon on February 28th, 2012 @ 7:21am CST

breastforce wrote:Thought I got through this unscathed, but resolved to cancel my card anyway in case. I rang my bank today. Aparently they were trying to get through to me, because in the last week they had blocked hundreds of attempts to use my card. Loads of transactions traced back to Ohio, plus some from all over Europe. If my bank hadn't been proactive, I would now have about £1500 of fraudulent charges on my card. One errant charge for around £10 got through.

To say I'm cross is somewhat of an understatement. Would love to be at Botcon to give FunPub what for. I think It's high time that Hasbro made a statement like this, as their brand is being damaged indirectly, as well. Should Hasbro allow FunPub to keep their license in the light of this? The way I see it, FunPub owes us all a lot more than a pithy apology. On a positive note, I did get my Runamuck today, and he is nice indeed. It's just a shame that what is an awesome exclusive has been marred by a laundry list of amateur mistakes.

My biggest fear is the same as Seibertron's, that Hasbro will pull the license and start doing their own HasbroCon...

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1352871)
Posted by Banjo-Tron on February 28th, 2012 @ 8:13am CST

Delicon wrote:My biggest fear is the same as Seibertron's, that Hasbro will pull the license and start doing their own HasbroCon...

Well if they ever wanted a compelling reason to do so, they have been handed one. It would be a sad day indeed if that happened, though.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353533)
Posted by Stormrider on February 29th, 2012 @ 5:40pm CST

Well, my credit card just got hit with $250 fraudulent charge. Annoying.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353543)
Posted by Seibertron on February 29th, 2012 @ 5:57pm CST

Here is another update from the Transformers Collectors' Club run by Fun Publications. Please read this information if you have been a member of the Club in the past few years or if you have ever used a credit card with their organization.

Transformers Collectors' Club wrote:As we continue to work on our systems, you will see some of our services go offline and then come back, so please be patient as we preserve data and clone servers and websites.

We are also taking this opportunity to remove all non-essential services from our ecomerce server. So in the short term in the next day or so, the club forums will be discontinued. It will be several days until we are ready to bring them back under an entierly new piece of software. I know alot of you have been asking for this so, we have decided to replace several of our systems with new packages. This means that you will not have access to the forum for a while at all. We do plan to make the old forum viewable (no posts) in the future.

Since we do not know exactly what data was taken, we are recommending that if your have used common logins or passwords with our system and any other system that your change your passwords in those systems immidiately (especially any financial sysstems)! We will be resetting all of the passwords in our system very soon. Please don't delay in changing your passwords in other locations.

In addition, we have found a few recent aticles concerning security issues with other vendors. If you use these services, these issues could possibly impact you. Please read the attached links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/1 ... 68593.html?

http://www.greenpois0n.co/itunes-accoun ... redit.html

Thanks for your support in this difficult time. We will continue to work with our vendors to correct the issues and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused any of our members.

Brian Savage

If you have not cancelled your credit or debit cards that you have used in the past, you MUST cancel those numbers. It's a very simple process. You just need to call the phone number on the back of your card, explain what happened, and your bank or credit card company will send you a new card which you should received in 7 to 10 business days or sooner (I received one of mine in 4 business days). You MUST do this. It is inevitable that failure to do this will only result in your card being used for fraudulent purposes. Do NOT wait for you to get hit. The only way you can protect yourself is by cancelling your current card numbers and having new cards sent to you.

It is also strongly recommended that you immediately change your passwords if you use your password on TransformersClub.com on any other website or banking website. The passwords in their database are not encrypted and it should be assumed at this point that all of our account information was taken along with our payment information.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353547)
Posted by Mighty_Galvatron on February 29th, 2012 @ 6:12pm CST

What?!

What kind of incompetents are running that place?! This is pure stupidity - unacceptable.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353548)
Posted by DISCHARGE on February 29th, 2012 @ 6:13pm CST

That's a pleasant surprise for everyone. HUZZAH!!

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353552)
Posted by AutobotCliffjumper on February 29th, 2012 @ 6:21pm CST

FINALLY, NEW FORUM! Interestingly enough it took a HUGE fudge up to finally get the ball rolling on the right direction. Still not happy about the security/fraudulent charges on my account.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353562)
Posted by Trikeboy on February 29th, 2012 @ 6:48pm CST

Instead of continuing to proceed their career in credit reports, has the club actually said sorry and accepted full responsibility yet?

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353565)
Posted by Seibertron on February 29th, 2012 @ 6:55pm CST

Trikeboy wrote:Instead of continuing to proceed their career in credit reports, has the club actually said sorry and accepted full responsibility yet?

They're apologized, not sure about accepting full responsibility. They might not be able to legally, I'm assuming that's the advice a lawyer would give them (which I hope they have consulted because this is all extremely serious and delicate stuff). Their latest apology is in the email that was quoted in the latest news story about this.

Transformers Collectors' Club wrote:As we continue to work on our systems, you will see some of our services go offline and then come back, so please be patient as we preserve data and clone servers and websites.

We are also taking this opportunity to remove all non-essential services from our ecomerce server. So in the short term in the next day or so, the club forums will be discontinued. It will be several days until we are ready to bring them back under an entierly new piece of software. I know alot of you have been asking for this so, we have decided to replace several of our systems with new packages. This means that you will not have access to the forum for a while at all. We do plan to make the old forum viewable (no posts) in the future.

Since we do not know exactly what data was taken, we are recommending that if your have used common logins or passwords with our system and any other system that your change your passwords in those systems immidiately (especially any financial sysstems)! We will be resetting all of the passwords in our system very soon. Please don't delay in changing your passwords in other locations.

In addition, we have found a few recent aticles concerning security issues with other vendors. If you use these services, these issues could possibly impact you. Please read the attached links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/1 ... 68593.html?

http://www.greenpois0n.co/itunes-accoun ... redit.html

Thanks for your support in this difficult time. We will continue to work with our vendors to correct the issues and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused any of our members.

Brian Savage

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353576)
Posted by Autobot032 on February 29th, 2012 @ 7:33pm CST

Again?? REALLY??

-_- *sighs*

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353581)
Posted by mattwhite924 on February 29th, 2012 @ 7:39pm CST

They didn't encrypt the passwords!? Who the heck is running that site, a 4 year-old?

There is absolutely NO excuse for not encrypting passwords.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353611)
Posted by DevastaTTor on February 29th, 2012 @ 8:46pm CST

Jeez, what's next?!? I guess tomorrow they'll be telling us all to change our names and enter the witness relocation program!

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353629)
Posted by Naked Magnus on February 29th, 2012 @ 9:32pm CST

mattwhite924 wrote:They didn't encrypt the passwords!? Who the heck is running that site, a 4 year-old?

There is absolutely NO excuse for not encrypting passwords.

That is correct. I am a professional software developer and have a masters degree in computer science. The entire site is built like sites were literally 10 years ago. Either they do not want to invest the money to modernize or their own in-house developers are seriously behind the times. Their software is a complete hackjob by todays standards. Nobody uses Cold Fusion anymore. I used to, but that was in 2002.

I haven't done shopping cart sites in a long time, but I can't help but think there are off-the-shelf products out there that could easily be customized in a short period of time to replace this legacy piece of garbage.

It isn't hard to encrypt passwords. Either they are too lazy or their developers are compete idiots. It is completely trivial now'adays to encrypt passwords. Probably writing a migration script to encrypt the existing passwords is beyond their technical capabilities.

Seriously, we need to stop putting up with this crap. Another option for them is to outsource the online store to an entity that knows what it is doing.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353642)
Posted by funeralthirst7 on February 29th, 2012 @ 9:58pm CST

Using pictures of Swindle to accompany the article is great touch.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353655)
Posted by Stormrider on February 29th, 2012 @ 10:26pm CST

What has me must concerned is our personal information being taken. Name, address, etc. That's how my identity got stolen.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353667)
Posted by shin_hibiki on February 29th, 2012 @ 11:17pm CST

Highlighting the failures of other websites is a distraction and doesn't take away from your own flop. I'm sure anybody who got hit at iTunes is aware of it already.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353691)
Posted by bvzxa on March 1st, 2012 @ 12:46am CST

Naked Magnus wrote:
mattwhite924 wrote:They didn't encrypt the passwords!? Who the heck is running that site, a 4 year-old?

There is absolutely NO excuse for not encrypting passwords.

That is correct. I am a professional software developer and have a masters degree in computer science. The entire site is built like sites were literally 10 years ago. Either they do not want to invest the money to modernize or their own in-house developers are seriously behind the times. Their software is a complete hackjob by todays standards. Nobody uses Cold Fusion anymore. I used to, but that was in 2002.

I haven't done shopping cart sites in a long time, but I can't help but think there are off-the-shelf products out there that could easily be customized in a short period of time to replace this legacy piece of garbage.

It isn't hard to encrypt passwords. Either they are too lazy or their developers are compete idiots. It is completely trivial now'adays to encrypt passwords. Probably writing a migration script to encrypt the existing passwords is beyond their technical capabilities.

Seriously, we need to stop putting up with this crap. Another option for them is to outsource the online store to an entity that knows what it is doing.

I have a degree in Network Security and management and I see so much is wrong with how the website was setup. I know that letting an outside company handle commerce can get expensive if you aren't making alot of sales to support the cost.

What I see is just a lack of security and thinking. They thought no one would hack them, which of course is foolish thinking. For some reason the way the ordering page was setup, it felt like I was ordering from a company back in the late 90's.

As far as them accepting full responsibility, they can't. technically because the breach is well known, and has caused problems for people they are on the hook. However FunPub is no Sony, this hack job could ruin them and probably for good. I just better get what I paid for before that happens.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353696)
Posted by G1 Legacy on March 1st, 2012 @ 1:19am CST

It's times like this when I wish we really did have Optimus Prime around to help us out occasionally. How awsome would it be to have 'ol Optimus pull up in Brian Savages driveway at midnight....clear his airbrakes line (pchooooooooooooo) blow his airhorn pissing off the neighborhood dogs (both inside and outdoors) for miles and setting off a car alarm or two as well, then Transforming and walking to the door just as Savage stumbles to it himself to see what all the comotion is about....just in time to see Prime leaning down on bended knee and simply proceeding to chastize him like a 7 year old child..."Do we have a problem with responsibilty Mr. Savage?"

Oh, how cool would that be? ;)^

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353707)
Posted by Banjo-Tron on March 1st, 2012 @ 2:17am CST

Wow, I knew the website looked old-fashioned but I really thought that at least the backend would be secure. :BANG_HEAD:

Pre-dotcom bubble sites were more modern and secure than this one. This is the ultimate betrayal of trust, pure and simple. :-x

I will only forgive FunPub if they send me a free Punch/Counterpunch, with FREE shipping. (I'm only semi-joking about that)

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353708)
Posted by Autobot032 on March 1st, 2012 @ 2:43am CST

If you don't know business, don't run one. It's as simple as that.

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm really not, but I mean this is their umpteenth problem and it's costing people a LOT of money.

The CC companies must be losing dough with all the canceled charges, cards, etc. TFCC is lucky the companies don't file against them. They probably could.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353720)
Posted by jbliss on March 1st, 2012 @ 5:14am CST

Naked Magnus wrote:Nobody uses Cold Fusion anymore.

Just 778,000 of us and growing. http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.co ... st-kit.pdf

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1353933)
Posted by Andrius on March 1st, 2012 @ 2:07pm CST

Just got fraudulent charges today. Closed my CC account. Keep checking, guys.

On a related note, I'm still waiting for my exclusives to ship... Insult to injury and all that.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1354000)
Posted by mattwhite924 on March 1st, 2012 @ 3:44pm CST

I got a new debt card number today. Time to go change my accounts to use it before they try to charge anything to the old number.

At this point I wish I wouldn't have joined the Transformers Club, no toy is worth this kind of crap.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1354032)
Posted by Kibble on March 1st, 2012 @ 4:43pm CST

Andrius wrote:Just got fraudulent charges today. Closed my CC account. Keep checking, guys.

On a related note, I'm still waiting for my exclusives to ship... Insult to injury and all that.

Don't keep checking...cancel your cards NOW!

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1354050)
Posted by Autobot032 on March 1st, 2012 @ 5:26pm CST

mattwhite924 wrote:At this point I wish I wouldn't have joined the Transformers Club, no toy is worth this kind of crap.

This statement says it all. You should never have to say this over a toy. Never. Ya know?

I'm so saddened and dismayed by this whole thing.

Re: Fun Publications Issues Apology and Statement Regarding Recent Security Issues (1354125)
Posted by bvzxa on March 1st, 2012 @ 9:02pm CST

UPDATE:

As I was checking my bank account I got a $298.54 charge from Walmart.com

I was in the process of cancelling my card when I saw this. Talked to the bank rep and she told me there was a $1 authorization charge to my card account to test the card. They did that on the 2/29. Then either last night or early this morning the attempt to use the card was made at Walmart.com

Now my bank kinda sucks but they did proceed the normal way of disputing the charge and proceeded to cancel the card.

Then I decided to give Walmart.com a call, and believe it or not, I got top quality customer service over the phone than I ever did at the many Walmart stores I shopped in. I began to explain to "Kevin" that I believe my card was used without my consent for a purchase. Since I have a Walmart.com account I checked that and the last .com purchase I made was a TV back in 2010. "Kevin" asked me for the last 4 digits of the card and what the amount was. I gave him the information and he found the charge. It went through but he said Walmart canceled the charge because the address did not match and there was an account already in my name. So he said even though it was on my bank statement the charge would drop off in 3 to 5 business days. He also took it a step further and escalate the situation to the financial security department.

he couldn't tell me the entire address but the thieves were trying to purchase an iPod Touch and trying to send it to California.

So I have no card but I have some peace of mind that this charge won't stick as well as not having to fight it out with the bank.

MODS: I'm gonna post this in the threads related to the TFCC fiasco so people can have some hope if they visit one of the three threads.

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