Amex Discloses Breach of 3rd Party Provider in Dec 2013

American Express mentioned there might have been a breach of its cardholders’ information starting in December of 2013. Very few details have been made publicly available, but the company is confirming that a breach of one of its third-party service providers did occur.

Customers are strongly encouraged to monitor any payment card charges closely as well as monitor credit reports for potential fraudulent activity for at least the next two years. Any suspicious activity should be immediately reported.

In addition, it is always recommended that you monitor your credit reports closely. Everyone with credit in the U.S. is entitled to a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus annually. The three are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Read the fine print when requesting, as often upsells will be made available to you. If at any point, you are asked for a payment card number, it likely means there is another product included. Keep in mind that you are not obligated to purchase other services or products to get your free annual credit reports.

According to a letter published by American Express to the California attorney general’s site, information accessed in this incident likely includes names, account numbers, and payment card expiration dates.

American Express, as well as other payment card providers, offers a service that will notify you of suspicious activity. If this service is available to you, it is recommended that you set it up. Go directly into your online account and do it that way, or call the company and talk to a customer service representative.

The third-party provider is not being named at this time and American Express has stated they are not aware of any fraudulent activity occurring as a result of this breach. However, it is still recommended that you pay attention to charges on payment cards and immediately report anything that doesn’t seem correct.