Epsilon data breach (email addresses)
Apr 3, 2011, 4:47 pm
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Freeload Univ. Where are you sitting?
Posts: 14,818
Epsilon data breach (email addresses)
Got this email today from Barclay's Bank regarding my Choice Privileges Visa:
Dear Customer,
Re: Important information regarding a breach to the privacy of your email address.
Barclays Bank of Delaware is the bank behind your credit card referenced above. We have been informed by Epsilon, a marketing vendor we use to send emails to customers, that someone outside their company gained unauthorized access to files in their systems that included your email address. This has affected many of our credit cards under our various co-brands, including the brand on your card.
Epsilon has assured us that the only information that was obtained was your name and email address. Please be assured your account and any other confidential or personally identifiable information were not at risk.
It is possible you may receive spam email messages as a result which could potentially ask you for additional information about your account. Please note, Barclays will never ask you in an email to verify sensitive information such as your full account number, Username, Password or Social Security Number. Therefore, any email which does so should be treated suspiciously, even if it looks like it comes from Barclays. As a reminder, we urge you to be cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown third parties.
Barclays is one of many companies affected and so you may receive similar notifications from other companies.
Please visit the "Privacy and Security" section at our website www.BarclaycardUS.com for more information on protecting your personal information.
We sincerely regret this has taken place and for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Barclays is committed to protecting customers against the misuse of their personal information and we take security issues very seriously. We vigorously monitor the security of our systems and require all third party vendors to adhere to strict security and privacy policies and procedures.
Please know that a full investigation of this matter is under way by Epsilon and we will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer care center at the phone number on the back of your credit card.
Sincerely,
Larry Drexler
Chief Privacy Officer
Barclays Bank of Delaware
Karen Smithson
Information Security Officer
Barclays Bank of Delaware
Dear Customer,
Re: Important information regarding a breach to the privacy of your email address.
Barclays Bank of Delaware is the bank behind your credit card referenced above. We have been informed by Epsilon, a marketing vendor we use to send emails to customers, that someone outside their company gained unauthorized access to files in their systems that included your email address. This has affected many of our credit cards under our various co-brands, including the brand on your card.
Epsilon has assured us that the only information that was obtained was your name and email address. Please be assured your account and any other confidential or personally identifiable information were not at risk.
It is possible you may receive spam email messages as a result which could potentially ask you for additional information about your account. Please note, Barclays will never ask you in an email to verify sensitive information such as your full account number, Username, Password or Social Security Number. Therefore, any email which does so should be treated suspiciously, even if it looks like it comes from Barclays. As a reminder, we urge you to be cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown third parties.
Barclays is one of many companies affected and so you may receive similar notifications from other companies.
Please visit the "Privacy and Security" section at our website www.BarclaycardUS.com for more information on protecting your personal information.
We sincerely regret this has taken place and for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Barclays is committed to protecting customers against the misuse of their personal information and we take security issues very seriously. We vigorously monitor the security of our systems and require all third party vendors to adhere to strict security and privacy policies and procedures.
Please know that a full investigation of this matter is under way by Epsilon and we will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer care center at the phone number on the back of your credit card.
Sincerely,
Larry Drexler
Chief Privacy Officer
Barclays Bank of Delaware
Karen Smithson
Information Security Officer
Barclays Bank of Delaware
Apr 3, 2011, 6:12 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SEA
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Posts: 2,687
It's real (but perhaps the OP can fix the title so that other people might be able to find this thread in a search).
http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news...each?gt1=43001
http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news...each?gt1=43001
Epsilon, the world's largest permission-based email marketing services company, released a statement reporting an unauthorized entry in its clients' customer database on Friday. Email addresses and customer names were obtained. The list of client databases began with the grocery chain Krogers, but as the investigation continues, more companies are added.
The current list of companies affected include:
TiVo
US Bank
JPMorgan Chase
Capital One
Barclays Bank of Delaware
McKinsey & Company
Marriott Rewards
Ritz-Carlton Rewards
New York & Company
Walgreens
Brookstone
LL Bean
The College Board
Home Shopping Network (HSN)
Disney Destinations
TiVo
US Bank
JPMorgan Chase
Capital One
Barclays Bank of Delaware
McKinsey & Company
Marriott Rewards
Ritz-Carlton Rewards
New York & Company
Walgreens
Brookstone
LL Bean
The College Board
Home Shopping Network (HSN)
Disney Destinations
Apr 3, 2011, 6:28 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Louisville, KY, USA
Posts: 2,583
I get so much spam now I doubt I'll notice any difference.
Apr 3, 2011, 7:28 pm
#6
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Apr 3, 2011, 8:48 pm
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Freeload Univ. Where are you sitting?
Posts: 14,818
Thanks, mia.
I thought it was just credit card companies, but I got another one from AbeBooks. Same deal - Epsilon has been breached.
I just had a strange charge on my BA visa that I disputed and they immediately cancelled/re-issued the card. I wonder if the issues are connected, and if I should do the same thing with my Barclay's card.
What a nightmare for all concerned.
I thought it was just credit card companies, but I got another one from AbeBooks. Same deal - Epsilon has been breached.
I just had a strange charge on my BA visa that I disputed and they immediately cancelled/re-issued the card. I wonder if the issues are connected, and if I should do the same thing with my Barclay's card.
What a nightmare for all concerned.
Apr 4, 2011, 8:27 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Chicago
Posts: 147
I doubt it - as mentioned, Epsilon is an external agency that sends the emails for each company, so the database only contains your name and email.
Apr 4, 2011, 8:56 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 318
Add "Best Buy" to the list
Dear Valued Best Buy Customer,
On March 31, we were informed by Epsilon, a company we use to send emails to our customers, that files containing the email addresses of some Best Buy customers were accessed without authorization.
We have been assured by Epsilon that the only information that may have been obtained was your email address and that the accessed files did not include any other information. A rigorous assessment by Epsilon determined that no other information is at risk. We are actively investigating to confirm this.
For your security, however, we wanted to call this matter to your attention. We ask that you remain alert to any unusual or suspicious emails. As our experts at Geek Squad would tell you, be very cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown senders.
In keeping with best industry security practices, Best Buy will never ask you to provide or confirm any information, including credit card numbers, unless you are on our secure e-commerce site, www.bestbuy.com. If you receive an email asking for personal information, delete it. It did not come from Best Buy.
Our service provider has reported this incident to the appropriate authorities.
We regret this has taken place and for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We take your privacy very seriously, and we will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information. For more information on keeping your data safe, please visit:
http://www.geeksquad.com/do-it-yours...data-safe.aspx.
Sincerely,
Barry Judge
Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer
Best Buy
On March 31, we were informed by Epsilon, a company we use to send emails to our customers, that files containing the email addresses of some Best Buy customers were accessed without authorization.
We have been assured by Epsilon that the only information that may have been obtained was your email address and that the accessed files did not include any other information. A rigorous assessment by Epsilon determined that no other information is at risk. We are actively investigating to confirm this.
For your security, however, we wanted to call this matter to your attention. We ask that you remain alert to any unusual or suspicious emails. As our experts at Geek Squad would tell you, be very cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown senders.
In keeping with best industry security practices, Best Buy will never ask you to provide or confirm any information, including credit card numbers, unless you are on our secure e-commerce site, www.bestbuy.com. If you receive an email asking for personal information, delete it. It did not come from Best Buy.
Our service provider has reported this incident to the appropriate authorities.
We regret this has taken place and for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We take your privacy very seriously, and we will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information. For more information on keeping your data safe, please visit:
http://www.geeksquad.com/do-it-yours...data-safe.aspx.
Sincerely,
Barry Judge
Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer
Best Buy