Cliff JudyThe unfortunate club of major retailers hit with data security breaches is growing as Staples says hackers hit some of its stores.
Blogger Brian Krebs — as he has done with several other high-profile hacks — appeared to break the news late Monday. Staples didn't take long to confirm.
A statement given to Krebs by the office supplies retailer said what you might expect … that it takes security issues very seriously and customers should know they're not responsible for credit card fraud. (Video via Staples)
It used to be so much easier tracking the hacks when it was just Target making us all check our credit card activity. In recent months, Home Depot, Michaels Stores, Neiman Marcus and Dairy Queen have all reported data breaches, among others.
To be fair, this breach doesn't appear to be on the massive nationwide scale some malware has caused.
Krebs — who has time and again advocated for more corporate awareness when it comes to hacks — wrote his sources within banks on the East Coast put the breach at a small number of stores. (Video via Hewlett-Packard)
"It appears likely that fraudsters have succeeded in stealing customer card data from some subset of Staples locations, including seven Staples stores in Pennsylvania, at least three in New York City, and another in New Jersey."
Staples did not provide a time frame for when the breach could've happened. Consumer advocates generally recommend monitoring your credit card activity and reporting anything strange. (Video via Fox News)
But remember, the Fair Credit Billing Act says your liability for unauthorized credit card use tops out at $50.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
