Bebe, women’s clothing store became the latest victim of cybercriminals. Bebe, which has 175 retail stores worldwide and outlet stores, says that between the period of November 8 and November 26, cybercriminals hacked its payment-processing systems and accessed customer names, credit and debit card account numbers, expiration dates and verification codes.
Jim Wiggett, CEO of Bebe in a statement said, “Our relationship with our customers is of the highest priority and we recognize the importance of protecting their information. We moved quickly to block this attack and have taken steps to further enhance our security measures.”
The company also said that the attack was limited to in-store purchases made in the US, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Online and mobile purchasers were not affected in the breach. However, it did not say how widespread the attack has been and the number of affected customers.
The Bebe hack is just the latest in a string of data breaches. In the past, many such incidences have taken place with leading brands such as Home Depot, Target, Michaels, SuperValu, Neiman Marcus, Sony Pictures, etc.
Like other hacks which took place at major retailers, hackers took advantage of security holes in Bebe’s cash register systems. Hackers deployed malware that recorded mag stripe data when cards are swiped through machines. The question is, why US continues to use the less secure ‘mag stripe’ cards when it can easily move to chip and PIN, which are better secured.
Such issues arise when these retailers make use of dated point-of-sale systems running older software which are not updated with the latest patches. Other reason may be that the retailers have been negligent on security procedures.
However, to retain its customer’s confidence, Bebe says that it will offer customers with one year of free credit monitoring. For this, customers need to enroll by calling a toll-free number. Bebe also advised customers to contact their banks and review their account statements to ensure no fraudulent charges have been made.
With this, the company says that customers should not worry about buying products from the company and should feel confident in continuing to use their debit/credit cards in Bebe stores.
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