Sandwich enthusiasts across the country, beware: the popular chain Jimmy John has just confirmed that it suffered a data breach during the summer. After an investigation, which began July 30, 2014, the company announced Sept. 24 that more than 200 of its 2,000 stores nationwide have been compromised during the summer. Hackers were able to enter through the login credentials stolen POS systems of the stores and steal credit card data and flow over the store transactions. Although Jimmy John's just today announced the results of its investigation, the story was broken by Brian Krebs security blogger in July after several financial institutions have reported a fraud pattern on credit cards used in Jimmy John stores.
What makes Jimmy John to help customers?
Following in the footsteps of Home Depot, Jimmy John offers its customers a protection service against identity theft without AllClear ID. The company also provided a digital phone customers can call if a problem should occur. You will be connected immediately to a dedicated investigator who will help you recover financial losses and restore your credit and identity. If you are not sure whether your card may have been compromised, you can log on the website of Jimmy John to see a list of the affected stores. This list also dates to when the violation occurred, to help you identify if you are at risk.
This violation is not limited to Jimmy John
The objective of this violation was Signature Systems Inc., the third point of sale provider used by stores to Jimmy John. Unfortunately, Jimmy John is not the only restaurant that uses this provider. Signature Systems Inc. reports that more than 100 independent restaurants across the country may also have been affected during this data breach. Most of these places are small restaurants to mom-and-pop style, which means that their customers are likely not going to be as aware as those of a large company like Jimmy John. For this reason, it is more important than ever for anyone who uses a credit or debit card when you eat to be vigilant about checking bank statements and accounts for signs of fraudulent activity.
Can I trust AllClear ID?
Although Jimmy John offers customers protection against identity theft free through AllClear ID, it is a good idea to consider a more comprehensive service. AllClear ID offers a decent protection, but it lacks some key elements needed to ensure complete protection against identity theft - such as monitoring the black market and access to your reports and credit scores. If you want the best possible protection, we recommend Identity Guard. Not only does it provide daily credit monitoring 3-desk with scores and public folders quarterly report, but it also monitors the Internet black market to ensure that your information is not sold or traded. This is in addition to a plethora of other features that can help ensure your identity is secure - and restore if something were to happen. Better yet, Identity Guard offers a free trial 30 days so you can try the service and compare it to AllClear ID before making a decision.
Looking to protect the whole family? TrustedID provides an easy-cost family plan that covers an unlimited number of family members living at the same address. It also has a robust set of features and protection services to offer like Identity Guard.
For more information on these and other services, visit our review page of protection against the full identity theft.