The company acknowledged the investigation after being contacted by Brian Krebs , confirming that it received a “ notification from a third party ” saying that info from cards used at GameStop.com were being offered for sale Attack.Databreach on the Dark Web . Krebs had been tipped off to the situation by financial industry sources , who said the compromise was likely active between mid-September 2016 and the first week of February 2017 . GameStop however didn ’ t confirm these data points . “ If Brian Krebs ’ report is correct , the GameStop breach Attack.Databreach has the potential to be a huge payday for hackers , ” said Vishal Gupta , CEO of Seclore , via email . “ Compromised credit-card numbers aren ’ t always easy to monetize , but in this case hackers were able to intercept Attack.Databreach CVV2 numbers…There is a reason companies aren ’ t allowed to store this CVV2 data in their own databases , so the fact that the hackers were able to intercept Attack.Databreach these security codes elevates the severity of the incident significantly ” . The timing could also be a key factor in the payoff for the crooks . “ If the reports about the Gamestop.com breach Attack.Databreach are right , then it shows how business-minded the bad guys can be . Hitting them during the Christmas season—when tons of distant relatives buying kids they hardly know gift cards for the one thing they know every kid wants—is pretty savvy timing , ” said Jonathan Sander , CTO , STEALTHbits Technologies . “ It also means these are purchases that many will barely recall making , and consumers were exercising the least caution they ever do as they rushed to get all their online shopping done ” . For now , details are skimpy as to what was stolen Attack.Databreach , when and how—no attack vector has yet been public . However , the company is large and hugely popular in the United States , with a global presence , so the potential for consumer exposure at scale , if the timeframe given is correct , could be significant . `` You can imagine a future where attacks such as this become so sophisticated and frequent that no one but the largest retailers can afford to defend against them , ” said John Gunn , CMO , VASCO Data Security . “ This would give the Amazons and Walmarts of the world a real competitive advantage in winning consumers ’ business . '' GameStop shoppers are advised to comb their purchase histories