Chick-fil-A warns security breach may have leaked credit card details of 9,000 customers in five states

  • Fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A is looking into a possible payment card breach at several restaurants
  • Almost 9,000 customer cards could be affected, according to one report
  • Chick-fil-A was tipped off to 'limited suspicious payment card activity' through its contacts in the payment industry, the company said  
  • It has been reported that the breach impacts customers who used credit cards in Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia
  • Credit card data theft could date as far back as last December

By Zoe Szathmary for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

Fast food chain Chick-fil-A is looking into a possible credit card breach at several restaurants, the company announced Wednesday.

If true, almost 9,000 customer cards could be affected, according to one report. 

It has been reported that diners who used cards at stores in Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia as far back as last December could be affected.

The Georgia-based chain was tipped off to 'limited suspicious payment card activity' through its contacts in the payment industry, the company said on its website.

The fast food giant said that it 'received the initial report [of the unusual activity] late on Friday, December 19.' Chick-fil-A also stated that is has reached out to federal authorities. 

Breach? Fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A is looking into a possible payment card breach at several restaurants, the company announced Wednesday (file photo) 
Breach? Fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A is looking into a possible payment card breach at several restaurants, the company announced Wednesday (file photo) 

Breach? Fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A is looking into a possible payment card breach at several restaurants, the company announced Wednesday (file photo) 

'Chick-fil-A recently received reports of potential unusual activity involving payment cards used at a few of our restaurants,' the company said in a statement on its website. 'We take our obligation to protect customer information seriously, and we are working with leading IT security firms, law enforcement and our payment industry contacts to determine all of the facts.'

The statement continued 'We want to assure our customers we are working hard to investigate these events and will share additional facts as we are able to do so. If the investigation reveals that a breach has occurred, customers will not be liable for any fraudulent charges to their accounts --- any fraudulent charges will be the responsibility of either Chick-fil-A or the bank that issued the card. If our customers are impacted, we will arrange for free identity protection services, including credit monitoring.'

The possible breach was first reported in late December by the security news website Krebs on Security. The supposed breach may have gone on for slightly under ten months, the website reported. 

The website, which is run by journalist Brian Krebs, said that it 'first began hearing from banks about possible compromised payment systems at Chick-fil-A establishments in November, but the reports were spotty at best. Then, just before Christmas, one of the major credit card associations issued an alert to several financial institutions about a breach at an unnamed retailer that lasted between Dec. 2, 2013 and Sept. 30, 2014.

'One financial institution that received that alert said the bank had nearly 9,000 customer cards listed in that alert, and that the only common point-of-purchase were Chick-fil-A locations.'

An unnamed source told the website most of the card fraud apparently took place at Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia restaurants, though others nationwide were affected. 

Chick-Fil-A says it has more than 1,850 restaurants in 41 states and the District of Columbia, and made upward of $5 billion in annual sales last year.

If a breach took place, almost 9,000 customer cards from Chik-Fil-A locations could be affected, according to one report (file photo) 
If a breach took place, almost 9,000 customer cards from Chik-Fil-A locations could be affected, according to one report (file photo) 

If a breach took place, almost 9,000 customer cards from Chik-Fil-A locations could be affected, according to one report (file photo) 


Most watched News videos

Comments 51

Share what you think

  View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

  View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.