Retail Therapy at Eddie Bauer May Cost More than You Think

If you have done your retail therapy at an Eddie Bauer store this year, your credit card information may have been compromised by malware that infiltrated their point-of-sale (POS) system. The company announced a data breach that has affected customers who shopped or returned items there between January 2 and July 17, 2016. Card names, numbers, security codes, and expiration dates were accessed.

Anyone who shopped in one of the retail stores during that time and used a payment card of any type should be diligently checking charges and statements for at least the next year. If any suspicious charges are found on the payment card, contact the issuing institution immediately for resolution. If a debit card with PIN was used, it’s advised to change the PIN as well. Remember that it’s better when given a choice at (POS) terminal between using a card as credit or debit to use it as a credit card. This will prevent the card from being re-created and used to drain the associated bank account.

Eddie Bauer has said that online purchases were not affected, but all 360 of its North America stores were breached. A full investigation has been launched and customers are being notified by press release and mail. However, it is unknown how many cards or precisely which ones were affected at this time. So, it’s better if anyone who may have shopped there during the specified timeframe take action to prevent fraud now. The company is offering one year of free identity theft protection, which should be used when offered in such circumstances.