Security Breach at Hannaford Supermarkets Results in Massive Credit and Debit Card Fraud
Posted by
Don BriggsMarch 20, 2008 11:13 AMOn February 27th, Hannaford Supermarkets became aware of a major security breach which lead to credit and debit card fraud for more than 1,800 shoppers and but another 4 million at risk. An article in the Bangor Daily News Reports that the security breach affected all of the 165 stores in the Northeast and 102 Speedbay stores in Florida. Investigators later determined that, although Hannaford Bros. only became aware of the breach on February 3rd, the data exposure had been going on since December 7th, and wasn't stopped until March 10th.
The exact root of the breach is still unknown, but according to the company, credit and debit card numbers were stolen during the card authorization transmission process, but they assure customers that no personal data like names, addresses, or telephone numbers were divulged. Hannaford doesn't collect any such information from shoppers.
Anyone who purchased items at any of the Hannaford Bros. Supermarket locations using a credit or debit card should carefully review their statements and contact their bank with any questions. In most cases, account holders have 60 days to notify their bank of fraudulent charges. You can find more information on the Hannaford Website.
Although it's still too early to say exactly what the consequences will be of the incident, which ranks as one of the largest retail security breaches on record, there are already murmurings of class action suits.. So far, any lawsuits filed have been on behalf of people whose credit and bank accounts were not affected, which is drawing criticism from many as an example of the frivolous lawsuits that sometimes give lawyers a bad name. Still, others argue that without the lawsuits, companies like Hannaford lack the motivation to improve security and prevent future breaches.
So far, Hannaford is cooperating with customers and federal investigators to identify those responsible for the incident and help restore confidence in the supermarket chain.