U.S. says busts largest-ever identity theft scheme

NEW YORK Aug 17 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities announced what they believed to be the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted on Monday in a scheme in which more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen.

Three men were indicted on charges of being responsible for five corporate data breaches in a scheme in which the card numbers were stolen from Heartland Payment Systems (HPY.N), 7-Eleven Inc and Hannaford Brothers Co, federal prosecutors said in a statement. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)