Avanti Markets Data Incident Notification

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Jul 18, 2017, 08:00 ET

TUKWILA, Wash., July 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

To our Avanti Markets Community:

As most of you are aware by now, Avanti Markets suffered a data breach through a third party software provider over the July 4^th holiday that impacted some Avanti Market kiosks.

Our team acted swiftly to contain the intrusion. We believe we were successful in doing so within hours after learning of this threat. However, the malware may have resulted in the capture of some kiosk users' personal information, including names and credit and debit card information. I want to stress that contrary to early concerns, no biometric information was captured by the malware. The fingerprint scans used with the U.are.U4500 fingerprint scanner supplied by Avanti Markets are all encrypted and were not vulnerable to this intrusion.

We apologize for any stress and anxiety this incident is causing some of our operators' and their customers. The security of your personal information is our top priority. Please know that we are doing everything in our power to address this problem and to make sure that it will not happen again. It is important to note that the malware affected only a small portion of our kiosks. At the time of this incident, Avanti Markets had delivered updated payment devices that included encryption technology, operators were in the process of deploying to all kiosks. We expect this to be completed by the end of July.

In the meantime, we are committed to providing our operators and consumers with a secure system. Our company has hired an outside law firm and industry leader in cyber technology to perform a root cause analysis. We are determined to learn from this experience and continue to be a leader in the micro market industry.

We have provided the facts as we now know them and the steps we have taken to address this problem. We have also posted detailed information on our website (http://www.avantimarkets.com/notice-of-data-breach/) and contacts for people who have questions and concerns.

We will continue to update you as more information becomes available. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

– Jim Brinton, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Avanti Markets

Notice of Data Breach

What Happened?
On July 4, 2017, we were alerted to an intrusion of sophisticated malware attack which affected kiosks at some Avanti Markets. At this stage, we have determined the attack was not successful on all kiosks and many kiosks have not been adversely affected.

What Information Was Involved?
At this point, it appears the malware was designed to gather certain payment card information including the cardholder's first and last name, credit/debit card number and expiration date. Customers who used their Market Card to make payment may have had their names and email addresses compromised. Many kiosks encrypt credit card information and payment card data on those kiosks would not be subject to this incident.

What We Are Doing?
We have been working nonstop to address this incident, including: commencing an investigation to determine the scope of this incident and attempt to identify those affected; working to secure our information systems, including changing passwords and other related measures; retaining a nationally-recognized forensic investigation firm and outside legal counsel to assist; notifying the FBI; shutting down payment processing at some locations and are working with our operators to purge impacted systems of any malware from the attack to minimize the risk of a data compromise in the future; developed FAQs to assist affected persons; setting up a call center to answer questions about the incident; and continuing to assess and modify our privacy and data security policies and procedures.

We have also made available credit monitoring services at no cost to those individuals whose personal information has been compromised. Specifically, we have partnered with Equifax® to provide its Credit WatchTM Silver identity theft protection product for one year at no charge to you. If you choose to take advantage of this product, it will provide you with a notification of any changes to your credit information, up to $25,000 Identity Theft Insurance Coverage and access to your credit report. To enroll, you must first call 800-224-8040 to obtain an authorization code and then go to www.myservices.equifax.com/silver, enter your activation code, click submit, and follow the enrollment instructions. You must complete the enrollment process by October 9, 2017. We encourage you to enroll in that service.

What You Can Do.
Even if you utilized your payment card at a kiosk, it does not mean you will be affected by this incident. However, out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that you remain vigilant and consider taking one or more of the following steps to avoid identity theft, obtain additional information, and protect your personal information:

1.	Contact the nationwide credit-reporting agencies as soon as possible to:

	•	Fraud Alert. Add a fraud alert statement to your credit file at all three national credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You only need to contact one of the three agencies listed below; your request will be shared with the other two agencies. To place a 90 day fraud alert on your credit file, log into the Equifax Member Center and click on the fraud alert tab, visit www.fraudalerts.equifax.com or call the auto fraud line at 1-877-478-7625, and follow the simple prompts. This fraud alert will remain on your credit file for 90 days.

	•	Security Freeze. Place a "security freeze" on your credit account. If you would like to request a security freeze be placed on your account, you must write by certified or overnight mail (see addresses below) to each of the three credit reporting agencies, or through the electronic or Internet method made available by the credit reporting agencies. Credit reporting agencies charge a $5 fee to place or remove a security freeze, unless you provide proof that you are a victim of identity theft, in which case there is no fee. In your request, you also must include (i) a copy of either the police report or case number documenting the identity theft, if you are a victim of identity theft; (ii) your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.,) address, Social Security number, and date of birth; (iii) if you have moved in the past 5 years, the addresses where you have lived over the prior 5 years; (iv) proof of current address such as a current utility bill or phone bill; (v) a photocopy of a government issued identification card (state driver's license or ID card, military identification, etc.); and, if applicable (vi) payment by check, money order or credit card (Visa, Master Card, American Express or Discover cards only.)

		Equifax	Experian	TransUnion
		P.O. Box 740256	P.O. Box 9554	P.O. Box 2000
		Atlanta, GA 30374	Allen, TX 75013	Chester, PA 19022
		(800) 525-6285	(888) 397-3742	(800) 888-4213
		(877) 478-7625 (report fraud)		(800) 680-7289 (report fraud)
		www.equifax.com	www.experian.com/consumer	www.transunion.com
		www.fraudalerts.equifax.com

	•	Free Credit Report. Receive a free copy of your credit report by going to www.annualcreditreport.com.

	•	Watch Bills, Statements and Mailing Lists. If you aren't already doing so, please pay close attention to all bills; credit-card charges, and bank account statements. Remove your name from mailing lists of pre-approved offers of credit for approximately six months.

2.	Contact the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") either by visiting www.ftc.gov, www.consumer.gov/idtheft, by calling (877) 438-4338, or by mail at Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580.

3.	If you believe you are a victim of identity theft you should immediately report same to law enforcement and/or your state attorney general.

4.	For Maryland Residents: Maryland Office of the Attorney General is: Maryland Office of the Attorney General, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202; Telephone: (888) 743-0023; website: http://www.oag.state.md.us.

5.	For North Carolina Residents: North Carolina Attorney General is: Address: North Carolina Office of the Attorney General, 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699; Telephone: (919) 716-6400; website: www.ncdoj.com/

6.	For Puerto Rico Residents: The total number of affected individuals is unknown.

7.	For Rhode Island Residents: Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General is: Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; Telephone: (401) 274-4400; website: http://www.riag.ri.gov. The total number of affected individuals is unknown.

8.	For New Mexico Residents: You have rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). These include, among others, the right to know what is in your file; to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information; and to have consumer reporting agencies correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. For more information about the FCRA, please visit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0096-fair-credit-reporting-act.pdf or www.ftc.gov. In addition, New Mexico consumers may obtain a security freeze on your credit report to protect your privacy and ensure that credit is not granted in your name without your knowledge. You may submit a declaration of removal to remove information placed in your credit report as a result of being a victim of identity theft. You have a right to place a security freeze on your credit report or submit a declaration of removal pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting and Identity Security Act. For more information about New Mexico consumers obtaining a security freeze, go to http://consumersunion.org/pdf/security/securityNM.pdf.