Neiman Marcus has been hit by a credit card security breach, though the luxury retailer did not say how many customers had credit and personal information stolen.
The disclosure late Friday night comes on the heels of Target upping its estimate of how many of their customers had credit card and personal information stolen.
Neiman’s said it is taking steps to contain the situation and enhance information security.
Target’s problem came to light before Christmas and consequently is believed to have reduced the level of holiday gift shopping at the chain during a critical business period. The Neiman’s situation, surfacing in media reports Friday, would have less impact on the luxury chain’s business, considering the Christmas season has ended.
However, at both chains, there could be customers reluctant to shop at the stores or online for fear of having their credit and personal information compromised.
Related Galleries
On Friday morning, Target upped its estimate on how many customers whose personal and payment information was stolen in a widespread hacking.
Several hours later, Neiman Marcus confirmed that it was informed by its merchant processor in mid-December of potentially unauthorized payment card activity that occurred following customer purchases at its stores.
“We informed federal law enforcement agencies and are working actively with the U.S. Secret Service, the payment brands, our merchant processor, a leading investigations, intelligence and risk management firm, and a leading forensics firm to investigate the situation,” Neiman’s said in a statement. “On January 1st, the forensics firm discovered evidence that the company was the victim of a criminal cyber-security intrusion and that some customers’ cards were possibly compromised as a result. We have begun to contain the intrusion and have taken significant steps to further enhance information security.
“The security of our customers’ information is always a priority and we sincerely regret any inconvenience. We are taking steps, where possible, to notify customers whose cards we know were used fraudulently after making a purchase at our store.”