The Dark Web seems to hold hundreds of thousands of information from Instacart customers, and many of these are even personal data, this report indicated on Wednesday.
These data allegedly being sold illegally are customer names, credit card numbers and digits, order histories, and more, which have reportedly been affecting the customers who are avid subscribers to the grocery delivery service app.
In the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, online delivery services like those from Instacart are in-demand. But those with bad intentions are taking advantage of their popularity.
On Wednesday, exclusive reports from BuzzFeed News said that sellers in two web-based stores are providing information on almost 279,000 accounts, those many of these may be duplicated and so, are not authentic.
Since April, Instacart's customers have reached millions in the United States and in Canada, the company spokesperson said. However, they are vehemently denying the claims of the data breach.
The spokesperson pointed out, "We are not aware of any data breach at this time. We take data protection and privacy very seriously... Outside of the Instacart platform, attackers may target individuals using phishing or credential stuffing techniques. In instances where we believe a customer's account may have been compromised through an external phishing scam outside of the Instacart platform or other action, we proactively communicate to our customers to auto-force them to update their password."
What is Instacart?
Instacart is an online grocery delivery app that lets customers find 1,000+ products in the stores where they shop at, in a one-stop platform. Basically, it is like visiting multiple stores and 7-Eleven's at once.
They cater to locations like Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, New York City, Austin, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Houston, and more.
The official website said, "Saving money on Instacart is easy. Find exclusive coupons on hundreds of items."
Using the app, customers can be able to save time and money when it comes to their grocery shopping.
Also Read: COVID-19 Safety Kit: Instacart to Give Free Face Mask
More news
Over the previous weeks, Instacart has also found itself in the news. For instance, the company has reportedly raised $100 million more in funding, thus amounting to $13.8 billion in valuation, Business Insider indicated.
This additional funding came in over the previous month since Instacart entered into a deal with DST Global and General Catalyst which is worth $225 million.
Furthermore, Instacart has also found itself facing issues since it has sued fellow grocery delivery app named Cornershop for alleged theft and intellectual property copyright issues from its Internet-based marketplace platform.
Right now, the customers are seemingly believing these news stories. The report said the information included shopping data and email addresses and were uploaded since June until this day.
Meanwhile, Nick Espinosa, the head of cybersecurity at Security Fanatics is saying these data breaches are legitimate. This cybersecurity firm lead stated, "It's looking recent and totally legit."
