Barnes & Noble Warns Over Hacked PIN Pads

Barnes & Noble has found a number of compromised PIN pads across its US stores, leading to fears that credit card information has been stolen.

The book and Nook seller discovered 63 different PIN pads that had been tampered with in 63 of its stores.

Barnes & Noble discontinued all PIN pads in its 700 stores across the US following the discovery on 14 September, so it has taken over a month for the firm to come clean about the incident.

PIN pads bugged

A “sophisticated criminal effort” was behind the compromises, which took credit card information when customers swiped their cards to make purchases.

The crooks managed to plant bugs in the PIN pads, but it remains unclear how they were compromised, nor was their any mention of how the data was relayed to the criminals.

Barnes & Noble said its customer database was secure, as was its member database.

“Barnes & Noble is continuing to assist federal law enforcement authorities in this matter. In addition, the company is working with banks, payment card brands and issuers to identify accounts that may have been compromised, so banks and issuers can employ enhanced fraud security measures on potentially impacted accounts,” it said in statement.

Customers who believe they may have been affected have been advised to change the PIN numbers on their debit cards, notify their banks and look at their statements.

A full list of affected stores can be found here.

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