They're popular stores that promise discounted prices off brand-name items, but if you used your Visa card at Winners or HomeSense recently you may have been exposed to credit card fraud.
Last month the stores' parent company TJX Cos., which also owns T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the U.S., discovered that its computer system had been hacked, possibly dating back to 2003.
The company estimates two million Canadian customers could be vulnerable. Another 18 million T.J. Maxx and Marshalls shoppers around the world could be affected.
It noticed what it referred to as an "unauthorized intrusion" in mid-December. The company is now working with police and security advisors in Canada and the U.S. to figure out how their systems were broken into.
According to a published report, Visa estimated 20 million of its cards may have been involved in the breach. It's unclear how many customers of other credit card companies are also affected.
A special help line has been set up for consumers at
1-866-903-1408.
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