Sally Beauty Admits Credit Card Breach

(RTTNews) - Professional beauty supplies retailer Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH) said Thursday that it now has enough evidence to confirm an illegal intrusion into its payment card systems.

The company was providing an update on the ongoing investigation of unusual payment card activity at some of its U.S. Sally Beauty stores.

However, the company currently is unable to determine the the scope or nature of the intrusions, until the investigation is completed.

Since learning of these payment card security breaches earlier in the month, the company has been working with law enforcement and its credit card processor, while launching a comprehensive investigation with the help of a leading third-party forensics expert to ensure customers are protected.

"We are working diligently to address the issue and to care for any customers who may have been affected by the incident," President and CEO Chris Brickman said.

Brickman added that customers are top priority and that he regrets any frustration or inconvenience this illegal breach may cause them. He wants to thank them for their patience and support as the company continues to work hard to correct the issue.

He encouraged customers who have any concerns regarding their payment cards to contact the company, while also monitoring their payment card statements and to report any suspicious transactions to their financial institutions.

He emphasized to customers that, under the payment card brand rules, they will not be responsible for fraudulent charges to their accounts that are promptly reported.

The current payment card systems breach comes just over a year after the company disclosed a similar breach at its Sally Beauty Supply LLC network which saw more than 25,000 records containing card-present (track 2) payment card data being illegally accessed and removed from its systems.

In the past few years, a number of U.S. retailers including Target Corp. (TGT) and Home Depot, Inc. (HD) have reported large-scale data breaches.