Data Breach at Jewel: What You Can Do
For the second time around, Jewel-Osco stores and other food stores in the AB Acquisition, LLC chain were hit by a data breach. As reported today (Tuesday, Sept. 30) in the Chicago Tribune and many other media sources, Jewel-Osco stores in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa were affected.
According to the Tribune, AB Acquisition is offering 12 months of free consumer identity protection services from AllClear ID to customers whose cards may have been affected in the latest attack.
CityData.com lists 12 Jewel-Osco stores in Kane County.
Residents this morning probably are wondering what they should do about the data breach. Jewel-Osco already has put out an FAQ statement on its website that provides some additional advice about what happened and what steps you can take.
Basically what happened was a “an unlawful intrusion to obtain credit and debit card payment information” in some Jewel-Osco stores. The stolen info could include name, account number, expiration date or other numerical information, but sensitive information like Social security numbers, birthdates or driver’s license information were not affected, because that information is not collected as part of the payment process.
There actually were two incidents, using separate malware. One was in June/July the other in August/September.
What You Can Do
“Out of an abundance of caution,” if you used your credit or debit card in a potentially affected store between June 22, 2014 and July 17, 2014 or between Aug. 27, 2014 and Sept. 21, 2014, Jewel-Osco recommends you monitor your credit and debit card account and promptly contact the bank that issued your payment card if you see suspicious activity.
The phone number of the issuing bank is on the back of your card. Bank officials can walk you through the steps to dispute the charges and protect your financial accounts. Each financial institution that issues credit cards independently determines whether your payment card should be re-issued depending upon its policies and procedures.
Just as an FYI, Jewel Osco does not request information by phone, text or email, so don’t respond if you get a call asking to confirm from someone saying they’re from jewel-Osco and want you to confirm information. “Identity thieves often try to take advantage of situations like this,” the Jewel website says. “Please take down their information and report this scam to the authorities.”
As mentioned above, Jewel will be providing one year of complimentary identity protection to affected customers. This coverage includes automatic protection with AllClear Secure for the next 12 months – there is no action required on your part to receive or enroll in this service. If a problem arises, simply call 1-855-865-4449 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and a dedicated investigator will assist you in restoring your identity to its accurate state.
Additional identity protection services that includes identity theft monitoring and a $1 million identity theft insurance policy will also be available. At that time more information about these services will be available at https://abacquisition.allclearid.com.
Jewel-Osco promises it will update its online information page regarding the ongoing investigation.
dditional information generally about data breaches can be obtained from the Federal Trade Commission by contacting the agency toll-free at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338) (TTY: 1-866-653-4261), or writing to Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.
If you do find suspicious activity on the credit or debit card indicated in our notice to you or in your credit report, Jewel-Osco recommends calling your local police or sheriff’s office and file a police report of identity theft. Get a copy of the police report. You may need to give copies of the police report to creditors to clear up your records. In addition, you should report identity theft to your Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission.
