Have you eaten at Wendy’s since the fall of 2015? Did you use your credit card? If so, your personal credit card information may have been captured by malware.
Every day, consumers entrust sensitive credit card information to the businesses they patronize. Accordingly, businesses such as Wendy’s owe a duty to their customers to securely maintain that information in confidence, and they must maintain sufficient safeguards to prevent criminals from accessing that information.
Unfortunately, it appears that Wendy’s failed in its duty to maintain the security of its customers’ credit card information. In January 2016, Wendy’s acknowledged that it was aware of reports indicating the theft of its customers’ personal credit card information beginning in late 2015. On May 11, 2016, Wendy’s reported that scammers had, as early as the fall of 2015, installed malware on the point-of-sale systems of numerous Wendy’s locations. According to its press release, the malware affected less than 300 locations and had been “eradicated” following its investigation. However, on June 9, 2016, Wendy’s reported that the malware had not been fully eradicated and actually affected a “considerably higher” number of locations.
Any potential data breach should be taken very seriously. The personal harm that can result is limitless and may include fraud or identity theft. Indeed, this incident exemplifies what can happen when a business fails to protect its customers’ information. Potentially millions of Wendy’s customers’ personal information has fallen into the hands of criminals and may soon be, if it has not already been, used for fraudulent purposes. Although, according to its June 9th press release, Wendy’s believes the malware to be under control, it recognized that “malware used by hackers is highly sophisticated in nature and extremely difficult to detect” and that its internal investigation would be continuing.
Attorneys at Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP have successfully brought lawsuits on behalf of numerous data breach victims. We are currently investigating this matter, as well as other data breaches. If you believe that your credit card information may have been captured at a Wendy’s location, please contact us to discuss your legal options.