Office supply chain Staples is investigating a possible breach of credit card information.
The company has contacted law enforcement to conduct an investigation into the “potential issue,” said Staples spokesperson Mark Cautela, according to security expert Brian Krebs.
“We take the protection of customer information very seriously, and are working to resolve the situation…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 a timely basis,” said Cautela in the statement.
The suspected breach was initially discovered by Krebs, who reported that a pattern of fraudulent credit card transactions were seen on a group of cards that had all been used at several Staples locations in the Northeast including in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. There is no evidence as of now if the possible breach extends outside the Northeast.
Staples is latest in a long line of retailers who have reported problems. Last month, home improvement store Home Depot confirmed that 56 million credit cards were compromised after it’s systems were hacked. K-Mart also confirmed that their payment systems were compromised and hackers obtained an unspecified number of credit and debit card numbers.
As the holiday shopping season approaches, the threat of cyber-crime is having an effect on consumers, with 45 percent of credit card holders reporting that they would avoid shopping at businesses that had been hacked.
