It’s not only your blood pressure or cholesterol you should closely watch when you eat fast food – your card’s security may be at risk, too. Wendy’s, for instance, is currently looking into possible fraudulent charges to its customers’ credit and debit cards.
Payment industry contacts reported “unusual activity” on payment cards that were used legitimately at some stores of the popular fast food chain, which prompted Wendy’s to launch a probe with the help of cybersecurity personnel and law enforcement authorities.
Wendy’s said that until the investigation is completed, it will be “difficult to determine with certainty the nature or scope of any potential incident.”
The investigation was reported first last Wednesday on KrebsonSecurity.com, owned by cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs. Sources in the Midwest and on the East Coast, according to Krebs, hinted of possible cyber theft activities.
“Fraudulent charges may have occurred elsewhere after the cards were legitimately used at some of our restaurants,” Bob Bertini, Wendy’s spokesman, confirmed with Krebs.
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Wendy’s is the third biggest burger chain in the U.S. with some 5,700 local locations. It continues to compete fiercely in the market, saying its same-store sales rose 3.1 percent at its North American sites in last year’s third quarter.
Restaurants and retail companies are fast becoming a close target of cyber security attacks. Back in 2013, Krebs first disclosed Target’s major data breach. The firm said last December that it will pay around $39 million to banks and credit unions to address losses from the said holiday-season data breach.
In the past few years, major similar incidents include those involving Home Depot Inc. and eBay. In the food industry, Jimmy John’s sandwich chain said its payments systems at some of its stores were infiltrated in 2014.
Those who have used their credit or debit card at Wendy’s in the last couple of weeks would probably benefit from monitoring their account before their monthly statement arrives or officialy confirm the occurrence of fraudulent charges.
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
