Staples has issued a warning that 1.16 million of its customers’ credit and debit cards may have been compromised, following a breach in summer.
The hack affects customers of 115 stores, all the way from Los Angeles to New York, according to a five- page list of outlets released by the company yesterday. An investigation by the company found that criminals had installed malware in point-of-sale systems in those stores.
It had been thought that the problem affected customers in northeastern US stores only, but the new list of stores affected demonstrates how much wider the problem was.
[Could you be affected? See the full list of stores that experienced a breach here ]
Most of the problems took place between August 10 and September 16, though some stores in Jersey City, New York and Springfield, Pennsylvania were affected since earlier in the year (fraudulent payment card use at New York’s Union Square store has now been pegged at as early as April, though malware was not found there).
Names And Card Data Stolen
Criminals are thought to have had access to personal information such as cardholders’ names, payment card numbers, expiration dates, and card verification codes – data they can use to make fraudulent transactions.
The problems took place on electronic point of sale systems in store, and Staples said yesterday that it “has taken steps to enhance the security” of the technology it uses, including through encryption.
Check Your Card Statements
Staples apologized for the incident and said it is offering credit monitoring and identity theft insurance to customers who used cards at the stores affected, during the relevant time periods.
It also reminded credit card customers that “typically” they will not be responsible for any fraudulent charges as long as they check their statements and report any unusual transactions quickly.
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