Druzak Merchant Provides Notice of a Payment Card Security Event

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Feb. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Druzak Merchant, the independent owner and operator of Quaker Steak & Lube®, State College, Pennsylvania ("restaurant"), provides notice of an event that may affect the security of payment card information used by certain customers at this restaurant between June 14, 2019 and August 5, 2019.

What Happened?  Druzak Merchant utilizes a point of sale system at its restaurant that is managed by Midwest POS Solutions, Inc. ("Midwest POS").  Druzak Merchant was alerted to unusual activity relating to payment cards that may have been used at this restaurant and immediately began working with third-party forensic investigators to investigate the report.

Through these investigations, it was discovered that payment card information may have been accessed as a result of the installation of malicious software on the point of sale system utilized at this restaurant. It was further determined that Midwest POS credentials were used to remotely access the point of sale system at this location, which allowed an unauthorized actor to deploy the malicious software into the point of sale system.

What Information May Have Been Involved? The investigations determined that payment card information such as name, card number, expiration date, and/or CVV (magnetic stripe Track data) that were used at the restaurant between June 14, 2019 and August 5, 2019 may have been involved in this incident.

What Druzak Merchant is Doing. Druzak Merchant worked with multiple forensic investigative firms to conduct investigations into this incident and to assist in remediation efforts. Druzak Merchant deployed tools to contain, disable, and remove any malware that may have been installed on its restaurant systems and enhanced existing security measures to reduce the likelihood of future incidents. 

This incident was also reported to Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express and to law enforcement. 

For More Information. Druzak Merchant has established a dedicated assistance line for individuals seeking additional information regarding this incident. Customers can call 1-866-977-1007, 9am - 9pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (excluding U.S. holidays).

What You Can Do. Druzak Merchant encourages customers to remain vigilant against identity theft by reviewing their financial account statements regularly and monitoring their credit reports for suspicious activity. Customers should immediately report any unauthorized charges to their card issuer. The phone number to call is usually on the back of the credit or debit card.

Under U.S. law you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.

You have the right to place a "security freeze" on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report. Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major consumer reporting agencies listed below:

In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended "fraud alert" on your file at no cost.  An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer's credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer's credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer's identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years.  Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the agencies listed below:

Additional Information

You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. 

The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.identitytheft.gov, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

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SOURCE Druzak Merchant