Pardon my naivety, but I've been following this thread from the beginning; in fact I remember the first time it was posted about someone having been hacked oh-so-many months ago.
It really disturbs me--pisses me off--to read the posts where people say, "oh, it's the internet, you're going to get hacked," as if that is some sort of excuse. People who say, "I've been hacked once or twice a year, it's just expected," is simply ludicrous. As if the struggles you go through by being unscrupulous is the norm.
Hacking, being hacked, having your **** stolen, used, borrowed, is a ZERO TOLERANCE rule. Simply because this is "the internet" and "that **** happens" is NO excuse for it to happen. We, as the consumers, put full trust in the vendors that they are taking actions to stop it from happening. When it does happen, it is not simply something that "you just have to expect," but it is a violation of trust, respect, and integrity.
Being hacked is something that you should never expect or TOLERATE. One violation is one too many.
I understand that there are--literally--billions of people accessing the internet every second. In this ocean of people, yes, there are bound to be many, many sharks. However, aside from proactiivity (or a lack of) on behalf of yourself, there is no excuse for being bitten.
Having people try to steal money from you is inexcusable, and it has been since the dawn of time. Simply because it happened on the internet is no reason to disregard it. If you know there is a place where thieves are targeting (a den of thieves, eh?) then avoiding it is not only scrupulous, it is simply the most intelligent thing to do.
I've never bought from Midwest or Northern Brewer. Because of this thread, I never will. Ever.