14 DAY TRIAL // St. Louis-based Schnuck Markets has revealed that the details of customer debit and credit cards have been compromised as a result of a cyberattack.
According to a statement issued by the company, the cybercriminals stole the information associated with around 2.4 million debit and credit cards between December 2012 and March 29, 2013. 79 of the 100 Schnucks stores have been impacted.
The attackers have apparently gained access to card numbers and expiration dates. The company says that cardholder names, addresses or other information have not been compromised.
No details have been made public regarding how the attackers have managed to compromise its networks, but the company has confirmed that the cybercrooks have utilized a piece of malware to steal the data.
Schnucks has been working with its payment processor to make sure that banks will be able to stop fraudulent transactions. In the meantime, the FBI and the Secret Service have launched an investigation to find the culprits.
The supermarket chain is warning customers that some scammers might be trying to trick them into handing over sensitive information. The fraudsters will say they’re investigating the incident and request sensitive information such as social security numbers and payment card information.
“Over the years, technology has helped us deliver superior customer service, but it also introduces risks that we have actively worked to manage through compliance audits, encryption technology and various other security measures,” said Chairman and CEO Scott Schnuck.
“We’ve worked hard to provide a secure transaction environment for our customers and, today I make a personal pledge to you that we will be relentless in maintaining the security of our payment processing system. We expect that the actions we have taken and will take in the future will send a clear signal that our customers may continue to trust us.”