IRVING, Texas (AP) _ Michaels Stores says the PIN pads at stores in 20 states were tampered with, potentially exposing customer’s credit and debit card information.
The Irving, Texas-based arts and crafts supplier said earlier this month that the tampering appeared to have happened in its Chicago-area stores. Michaels said it has identified roughly 90 PIN pads in its 964 U.S. stores that showed signs of tampering. The company disabled and quarantined suspicious PIN pads and removed another 7,200 as a precautionary measure. Michaels is also screening all PIN pads in its Canadian stores
Michael learned of the tampering after banking and law enforcement officials contacted the company following reports of fraudulent transactions by customers. The company is working with payment card brands and issuers to identify the fraud and is assisting federal and state law enforcement authorities with their investigation.
Michaels urges customers to check their accounts for unauthorized transactions. Customers whose accounts were compromised should contact their card issuer directly.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)