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 & Honik, P.C.
Call (215) 278-4449 or contact us online
today to set up your free no-obligation consultation.