Neiman Marcus Announces as Many as 1.1 Million Customer Credit Cards Compromised

On January 22, 2014, retailer Neiman Marcus published a letter to consumers on its website, revealing that between July 16, 2013 and October 30, 2013, as many as 1.1 million customer payment cards used in the company’s US stores may have been illegally accessed by third parties.

According to the letter, hackers secretly installed “malicious software” in Neiman Marcus’ computer systems capable of collecting credit card information. As of January 22, 2014, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover have notified Neiman Marcus that approximately 2,400 credit and debit cards were fraudulently used after being used at Neiman Marcus stores. According to Neiman Marcus, social security numbers and birth dates were not compromised, the company has not seen any fraudulent activity on Neiman Marcus or Bergdorf Goodman cards, customers who have shopped online have not been affected, and Personal Identification Numbers (“PINs”) have not been compromised because the company does not use PIN pads for in-store purchases.

Neiman Marcus has not indicated what part of its computer system was infected by the malware, and it is not clear whether the attack on Neiman Marcus is related to the November-December 2013 attack on Target databases, which affected approximately 70 million individuals and 40 million credit and debit card accounts. Neiman Marcus is offering a free year of credit monitoring and identity-theft protection services to customers who shopped with the company between January 2013 and January 2014. The company also recommends its customers check their credit card statements for fraudulent activity and report any suspicious transactions to the card issuer immediately.

Khorrami Boucher Sumner Sanguinetti, LLP is currently litigating a class action lawsuit against Adobe Systems, Inc. on behalf of American consumers in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 13-cv-05596) related to a 2013 data breach. If you believe your personal and/or financial information has been compromised, you may be entitled to relief. Please call Khorrami Boucher Sumner Sanguinetti, LLP for a confidential consultation.