Customers of the DSW Shoe Warehouse in Eastwood Towne Center in Lansing Township should be watchful of their credit card activity after the company's recent security breech.

Last Tuesday, the company announced that personal information, including credit card numbers, was stolen from its database during the past three months.

DSW spokesman Rob Whitehouse said 103 of 175 stores were targeted, but the company isn't releasing store locations or individuals that have been affected at this time.

Whitehouse said federal law enforcement is investigating the incident.

"Everyone is just working towards one common goal and are very focused in terms of trying to make sure that customers are taken care of," Whitehouse said.

He added that the perpetrator is believed to have been a computer hacker who was able to gain access to the customers' personal information.

Some consumers who shopped at the store Monday night said they weren't aware of the stolen credit information.

Davina Whiteker of Flint said the store did not inform her of the situation when she made her purchase.

"That would make you worry especially since I just used a credit card." Whiteker said.

Whitehouse said store employees have been instructed to distribute a phone number to customers if they have concerns.

"The company has brought in one of the top security firms in the country to see what has happened and to make changes to prevent this thing from happening again," Whitehouse said. "From the company's side, we are trying to improve security. For the customer, they should watch their credit card activity and keep track of what is happening."

Judith Collins, director of MSU's Identity Theft Crime and Research Lab, said the majority of identity thefts are committed by employees or those who receive information from people inside a company.

Collins, who also is an associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice, said identity theft is on the rise. Although there are no required policies that companies use for securing of personal information, there are some guidelines that companies can follow to protect themselves.

Collins recently authored a book called "Preventing Identity Theft in Your Business," which suggests that companies should improve employee screening and continually assess the security of personal information.

"The bottom line here is that computers do not steal," Collins said. "What we need is personnel security."

Staff writer Claire Cummings contributed to this report.