While computer hackers have, in the past, managed to break through the transaction processing security measures of payment processing firms, security has often managed to hold up. Such was the case when a self-professed "hacktivist" proclaimed that he had broken through the records of Visa and MasterCard, but later admitted he was lying.

According to Finextra, the hacker, who goes by the screen name "Reckz0r," claimed to have exposed and leaked the names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of several hundred Visa and MasterCard users. On his Twitter account, he stated that he had redacted the credit card information from the data he supposedly released, indicating that his intent may not have been wholly malicious and, in his words, was largely an effort to prove what he could do.

However, the news source reports that after initially refusing to comment, Visa stated that it had not been hacked or compromised in any way, which Reckz0r later confirmed in a tweet. He did say that he'd instead breached the security of 79 different banks and stolen data, despite offering nothing to support that claim.

MasterCard, meanwhile, has yet to comment on the matter.