Panera Bread Data Breach Hits Millions 

Panera Bread has become the latest restaurant chain hit with a data breach.

According to numerous reports, the quick-service restaurant chain has known about the data breach for at least eight months.

Somewhere between 10,000 and 7 million
How many customers’ records were compromised appears to be up for debate.The QSR told Fox News that that fewer than 10,000 customers’ information had been compromised by the leak.   

Brian Krebs, an independent investigative journalist who authors the Krebs on Security cybersecurity blog, said the QSR, which operates more than 2,000 U.S. locations, was notified about the data breach in August. Krebs, in an interview with the Washington Post, said that indexed data from Panera’s website indicates that more than 7 million customers may be affected.

Customers’ names, email and physical addresses, birthdays and the last four digits of their credit card number were revealed along with the customer’s Panera loyalty card number, reported Krebs on Security. This information could be used by scammers to spend prepaid accounts or to otherwise siphon value from Panera customer loyalty accounts.

Loyalty program fraud, as Hospitality Tech has previously reported, is gaining in popularity.