The Associated Press

The California Department of Motor Vehicles said Saturday there is no evidence of a computer breach that could affect credit-card users, but it's launching an investigation "out of an abundance of caution."

DMV spokesman Armando Botello said the agency was alerted by law enforcement to a potential security breach within its online credit-card processing systems.

"There is no evidence at this time of a direct breach of the DMV's computer system," Botello said in a statement.

But the agency has opened an investigation, and it's cooperating with state and federal authorities.

As part of the probe, DMV will review its systems and seek information from the outside vendor that processes credit-card transactions and from credit-card companies.

KrebsOnSecurity.com, a website that covers cyber-security problems, was the first to report the possible breach, which it says involved online payments from Aug. 2, 2013, to Jan. 31, 2014.

Seth Eisen, a spokesman from MasterCard, said it was investigating reports of a potential breach at the California DMV. MasterCard's own systems have not been breached, Eisen said.

MasterCard has sent out alerts to member banks, Eisen said. He advised consumers to review their accounts and contact their card issuer for help.

The DMV said it has increased monitoring of its website. Any affected customers will be notified, the agency said.