Diners looking for a quick meal at Chick-fil-A should proceed with caution. The company announced Wednesday that it is looking into a possible data breach.
Chick-fil-A spokeswoman Carrie Kurlander said in a statement the fast-food chain has received reports of suspicious activity involving payment cards used at some of its restaurants.
“We want to assure our customers we are working hard to investigate these events and will share additions facts as we are able to do so,” Ms. Kurlander said.
The company has hired an independent IT contractor to investigate the fraud charges. If a breach is confirmed, Chick-fil-A will absolve affected customers of the charges, Information Week reported.
“Any fraudulent charges will be the responsibility of either Chick-fil-A or the bank that issued the card. If our customers are impacted, we will arrange for free identity protection services, including credit monitoring,” Ms. Kurlander said.
The company first learned of the suspicious charges on Dec. 19. Chick-fil-A did not reveal whether or not customers’ contact information would be compromised by the breach but confirmed that the company is working with federal law enforcement to investigate the matter and urged customers to monitor their bank accounts for fraudulent charges.
The possible data breach comes almost a year after major retail chain Target suffered a similar breach that caused financial institutions to lose nearly $500 million in card replacement costs and other expenses, according to the National Association of Federal Credit Unions.
Several other companies suffered data breaches in the last year, including Home Depot, Michaels, AOL, and Neiman Marcus.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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