Fast Food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A has revealed that it may be facing a possible debit/credit card data breach on its hands.
Several debit and credit card fraud cases have recently been traced to accounts that were used at various locations of the fast food chain in the U.S. Chick-fil-A has over 1,800 restaurants in the country. The breach reportedly occurred between December 2013 and September 2014.
In 2014, companies such as Neiman Marcus, Target and Home Depot, among others, fell prey to point-of-sale malware, which is designed in such a manner that it can steal the encoded data on the magnetic strip of a credit or debit card. As a result, user information is compromised. The stolen data can be transferred to counterfeit cards, which are often used to purchase goods at major retailers.
According to Brian Krebs, a security analyst with KrebsOnSecurity, sources have let on that over 9,000 account numbers from a financial institution were listed as compromised.
"It's crazy because 9,000 customer cards is more than the total number of cards we had impacted in the Target breach," revealed a banking source.
Krebs' source also said that while several Chick-fil-A locations were affected, the major breach seems concentrated in Maryland, Texas, Georgia, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Chick-fil-A has acknowledged the breach, saying that it "recently received reports of potential unusual activity involving payment cards used at a few of our restaurants."
The restaurant chain said that it takes the protection of customer data seriously and has been working in tandem with IT security firms, as well as its contacts in law enforcement and the financial industry, to assess the scenario. Chick-fil-A is investigating the matter and will share additional information once it is able to.
The restaurant chain also assured customers that if their data has been compromised owing to the breach, the customers will not be responsible.
"If the investigation reveals that a breach has occurred, customers will not be liable for any fraudulent charges to their accounts -- any fraudulent charges will be the responsibility of either Chick-fil-A or the bank that issued the card," noted Chick-fil-a in a statement.
The restaurant chain asserted that in the event its customers are impacted, it will make arrangements for providing them help with identity protection free of charge, which may include credit monitoring.
Customers who are worried that they may be affected by the data breach at Chick-fil-A can call 855-398-6439 for assistance or any queries.
