Nearly 400 Dairy Queen Stores breach: Here All you need to know

Nearly 400 Dairy Queen Stores breach: Here All you need to know -

After announcing that it had suffered a data breach in September, Dairy Queen released a statement with details on how many stores were affected. A total of 395 shops and a Dairy Queen Orange Julius store had their payment systems compromised by the infamous malware "backoff". This is the same malware including the Department of Homeland Security of the United States has determined to have reached more than 1,000 companies across the country. Although the Dairy Queen violation was reported by Brian Krebs security blogger in August, it took six weeks for the company to provide full details to customers.

What customer information was exposed?

Because this attack compromised the POS system on cash registers Dairy Queen, customers payment cards were exposed. This means that the thieves stole all the data typically found on a credit card: customer names, card numbers and expiration dates . Fortunately for debit card holders, Dairy Queen said that there is no evidence PINs were exposed. Other personal information such as email addresses or Social Security number, is also safe.

How Dairy Queen is taking care of the matter?

Dairy Queen has set up a website with information about the breach, including a complete list of each store that was compromised. If you used a credit card to one of these places during the relevant period, Dairy Queen has promised to provide one year of free credit monitoring service of AllClear ID. There is a digital phone customers can call for help if necessary. Although generous Dairy Queen to offer protection against identity theft free AllClear ID can not provide sufficient protection for the customers affected by the breach. For more information on how AllClear ID services stack up against the best identity theft programs, consult our website comparing services.

What can I do to stay safe?

1. Keep an eye on your credit card statements. If you shopped at one of the places affected during the time of the breach, it is important to keep an eye on your bank statements or credit cards. Look for unfamiliar transactions, including those under $ 10, and be sure to report any suspicious activity immediately. The sooner you can catch fraud, fewer headaches, it will be for you to deal with.

2. Consider applying for a new card. This may not be necessary, but if you want to avoid the headache before it starts, you can try to contact your financial institution to request a new card. Some may be reluctant to give a new card if there has been no fraudulent charges on the account, but if you are persistent, they can follow.

3. Beware of phishing attempts. Although the e-mail addresses and telephone numbers are not exposed during this attack, clients' names were. Scammers and thieves will take any opportunity they can get to take advantage of people, so you should be on the lookout for phone calls or emails claiming to be from Dairy Queen or related entities. Sometimes after a data breach, a retailer reach out to affected customers, but this was not generally the case. If you receive phone calls, do not give your personal information. Get as much information from the caller that you can then hang up and call the support number for customers on the Dairy Queen website. If you receive an email, do not click any link. Instead, visit DairyQueen.com and follow the links to register for your free credit monitoring service from there.

For more information on protecting yourself against identity theft, please see our full review page.