NOTICE OF DATA BREACH

The Markets ("Markets") is informing individuals of a recent security incident involving credit card information for credit or debit card transactions between June 29, 2024, and July 22, 2024, at five of its store locations. We encourage individuals to read this notice carefully as it contains information regarding the incident and steps they can take to safeguard their personal information.


What Happened?

On July 22, 2024, Markets was contacted by local police in Mississippi who reported finding a card skimmer on a checkout lane at one of our Mississippi stores. A card skimmer is a device that is illegally placed on credit card payment machines to capture credit card information and PIN numbers used on that machine. Upon receiving this notification, Markets immediately initiated an internal investigation to determine if other card skimmers were present at any of our other stores. In total, we identified skimmers at four Markets stores in Mississippi and one skimmer in a Markets grocery store in Louisiana. We also engaged third-party cybersecurity specialists to conduct an investigation into how the card skimmers functioned and what information they could potentially capture.

Throughout our investigation, we have worked closely with law enforcement and our cybersecurity specialists to investigate the placement and nature of these skimmers. To date, law enforcement has identified and arrested two individuals who they believe are connected to the placement of these card skimmers. The card skimmers were present at the stores between June 29, 2024, and July 22, 2024.

Importantly, not all individuals who purchased something at the five stores during this time period are impacted, as the card skimmers were not present on every lane in each of the five stores. However, we provide this notice so that individuals who may have purchased something at these stores between June 29, 2024, and July 22, 2024, using their credit or debit card and associated PIN code can take steps to protect themselves.


What Information Was Involved?

Due to the nature of the card skimmers and the way we collect credit card information, we are not able to identify the precise individuals who may be impacted by this incident. If you purchased something at the below stores using your credit or debit card in combination with a PIN code between June 29, 2024, and July 22, 2024, your credit or debit card number and PIN code may have been impacted.

Mississippi Markets:

Natchez Market #1
280 John R Junkin Drive
Natchez, Mississippi 39120

Natchez Market #2
436 US-61 #3
Natchez, Mississippi 39120

Southside Market
31 Sgt Prentiss Drive
Natchez, Mississippi 39120

McComb Market
1211 Delaware Avenue
McComb, Mississippi 39648

Louisiana Markets:

Vidalia Market
1645 Carter Street
Vidalia, Louisiana 71373

What Are We Doing?

The confidentiality, privacy, and security of information maintained by Markets remains our top priority. Upon becoming aware of the presence of the card skimmer in our Mississippi grocery store, we moved quickly and diligently to investigate whether other card skimmers were present, ensure they were removed immediately, and investigate what information could have been captured by these card skimmers.

Markets is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services to any individual who may have purchased something at the five stores between June 29, 2024, and July 22, 202 using their credit or debit card number in combination with a PIN code. Individuals who wish to enroll in this complimentary service may call our dedicated, toll-free number set up for this incident at (888) 458-5685 to obtain a complimentary monitoring code. Once a code is received, individuals can enroll by either visiting www.experianidworks.com/3bcredit or calling 877.288.8057. Individuals may be asked to provide the following engagement number - B135287 - to complete enrollment.


What Can Individuals Do?

We are encouraging individuals to take steps to protect their personal information and to enroll in the complimentary credit monitoring offered by Markets to potentially impacted individuals. Additional information pertaining to resources are provided below.

  1. Review Your Accounts for Suspicious Activity. We encourage you to remain vigilant by regularly reviewing your accounts and monitoring credit reports for suspicious activity.
  2. Order a Credit Report. If you are a U.S. resident, you are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free at 1-877-322-8228. If you discover information on your credit report arising from a fraudulent transaction, you should request that the credit reporting agency delete that information from your credit report file. Contact information for the nationwide credit reporting agencies is provided in the next section.
  3. Contact the Federal Trade Commission, Law Enforcement and Credit Bureaus. You may contact the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"), your state's Attorney General's office, or law enforcement, to report incidents of identity theft or to learn about steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft. To learn more, you can go to the FTC’s website at www.identitytheft.gov; call the FTC at (877) IDTHEFT (438-4338); or write to: FTC Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.
  4. You may contact the nationwide credit reporting agencies at:
    1. Equifax: (800) 525-6285; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, Georgia, 30374; or www.equifax.com.
    2. Experian: (888) 397-3742; P.O. Box 9701, Allen, TX 75013; or www.experian.com.
    3. TransUnion: (800) 916-8800; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022; or www.transunion.com.
  5. Additional Rights Under the FCRA. You have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. Access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report and you may seek damages from violators. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here.
    Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by: (i) visiting https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/bcfp_consumer-rights-summary_2018-09.pdf ; or (ii) by writing to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20552.
  6. Request Fraud Alerts and Security Freezes. You may obtain additional information from the FTC and the credit reporting agencies about fraud alerts and security freezes. You can add a fraud alert to your credit report file to help protect your credit information. A fraud alert can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, but it also may delay your ability to obtain credit. You may place a fraud alert in your file by calling just one of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies listed above. As soon as that agency processes your fraud alert, it will notify the other two agencies, which then must also place fraud alerts in your file.

In addition, you can contact the nationwide credit reporting agencies at the following numbers to place a security freeze at no cost to you:

  1. Equifax: (800) 349-9960
  2. Experian: (888) 397-3742
  3. TransUnion: (888) 909-8872

Placing a security freeze prohibits the agency from releasing any information about your credit report without your written authorization. Security freezes must be placed separately at each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies. When requesting a security freeze, you may need to provide the following information:

  • Your full name, with middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, etc.
  • Social Security number
  • Date of birth
  • Current address and all addresses for the past two years
  • Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill
  • Legible copy of a government-issued identification card, such as a state driver's license, state identification card, or military identification.

After receiving your request, each agency will send you a confirmation letter containing a unique PIN or password that you will need to lift or remove the freeze. You should keep the PIN or password in a safe place.

Other Important Information.

  1. For Iowa Residents. You may contact law enforcement or the Iowa Attorney General's Office to report suspected incidents of identity theft: Office of the Attorney General of Iowa, Consumer Protection Division, Hoover State Office Building, 1305 East Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50319, www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov, Telephone: 515-281-5164.
  2. For Maryland Residents. You can obtain information about avoiding identity theft from the Maryland Attorney General at: Maryland Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202, (888) 743-0023 (toll-free in Maryland), (410) 576-6300, www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov.
  3. For Massachusetts Residents. You have the right to obtain a police report and request a security freeze (without any charge) as described above.
  4. For New York Residents. You can obtain information about security breach response, identity theft prevention, and identity protection information from the New York State Office of the Attorney General at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341, 1-800-771-7755 (toll-free), 1-800-788-9898 (TDD/TTY toll-free line), https://ag.ny.gov/, and at: Bureau of Internet and Technology (BIT), 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10005, Phone: (212) 416-8433, https://ag.ny.gov/resources/individuals/credit-lending/identity-theft.
  5. For North Carolina Residents. You can obtain information about avoiding identity theft from the North Carolina Attorney General at: North Carolina Attorney General's Office 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, (877) 566-7226 (toll-free in North Carolina), (919) 716-6400, www.ncdoj.gov.
  6. For Residents of Oregon. You may report suspected identity theft to law enforcement, including the Office of the Oregon Attorney General and the FTC. Contact information for the FTC is included in your notice. The Office of the Oregon Attorney General can be reached: (1) by mail at 1162 Court St. NE, Salem, OR 97301; (2) by phone at (877) 877-9392; or (3) online at https://www.doj.state.or.us/
  7. For Rhode Island Residents. You can obtain information about avoiding identity theft from the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General at: Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Unit 150, South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903, (401)-274-4400, www.riag.ri.gov. You have the right to obtain a police report, and to request a security freeze (charges may apply), as described above. The number of Rhode Island residents potentially involved in this incident is unknown.
  8. For Washington, D.C. Residents. You can obtain information about avoiding identity theft from the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia at: Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, 400 6th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001, (202)-727-3400, www.oag.dc.gov. You have the right to request a security freeze (without any charge) as described above.

If individuals have additional questions, they are encouraged to please contact our dedicated, toll-free number set up for this incident at (888) 458-5685. Representatives are available Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 9 PM Eastern Time. Safeguarding the information maintained by Markets remains a top priority and we sincerely regret any inconvenience or concern this event may cause you.