While news outlets have been focusing on Equifax and Neiman Marcus, another big-name corporation’s data breach went under the radar. Whole Foods, which was recently acquired by tech giant Amazon, found out in late September that they had been the latest victims of a data breach.
On Sept. 28th, the grocery announced that it had received information about a third party having unauthorized access to payment card information at venues, including taprooms and restaurants, within Whole Foods’ stores. The breach affected roughly 100 venues over a 6-month period, according to the Wall Street Journal.
News of the Whole Foods data breach was drowned out amid the noise of the Equifax news, which affected approximately 145 million people. In comparison, the Whole Foods breach impacted much fewer consumers. However small the breach, important information such names, addresses, phone numbers and credit card numbers can be used to make illegal purchases and create fake identities, which can be devastating for an individual.
On Oct. 20th, Whole Foods released an update on the data breach:
“Whole Foods Market has resolved the incident previously announced on September 28, 2017, involving unauthorized access of payment card information used at certain venues such as tap rooms and full table-service restaurants located within some stores. These venues use a different point of sale system than the company’s primary store checkout systems, and payment cards used at the primary store checkout systems were not affected….The company conducted an investigation, obtained the help of a leading cyber security forensics firm, and contacted law enforcement. Whole Foods Market replaced these point of sale systems for payment card transactions and stopped the unauthorized activity.”
If you have been affected by a data breach, contact the Philadelphia consumer class action attorneys at Golomb Legal, P.C.
Call (215) 278-4449 or contact us online today to set up your free no-obligation consultation.