Staples may be the next in a line of retailers experiencing a payment card data breach. The retailer is presently investigating the potential breach and has contacted law enforcement, according to Mark Cautela, Sr. Public Relations Manager at Staples.
“We take the protection of customer information very seriously, and are working to resolve the situation,” said Cautela in an email. “If Staples discovers an issue, it is important to note that customers are not responsible for any fraudulent activity on their credit cards that is reported on [in] a timely basis.”
Computer and data security logger Brian Krebs initially reported the breach on his blog Krebsonsecurity.com, indicating that “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.”
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Krebs reported that a number of banks traced a pattern of fraudulent transactions on a group of cards that had been used at the affected Staples locations. The fraudulent charges reportedly also occurred at other businesses, including supermarkets and big-box retailers.
Staples provided no additional details on the potential breach.
Over the past 12 months, payment card data breaches have been reported at Kmart, The Home Depot, SuperValu, Target, Neiman Marcus and Michaels Stores.
