American Honda Motor Co. Warns of Data Breach
The American Honda Motor Co., has alerted Acura and Honda Customers that have established an online account for features such as Honda Financial Services or Acura Financial Services, of a recent data breach. Additionally, people who provided information to an authorized dealer during a vehicle transaction or Requested more information through an American Honda Motor Co., Inc. web site likely had information compromised.
The breach was a result of unauthorized access to an email list used by a vendor that the company uses to send emails to customers. The company said that no financial information was compromised, and that based on the information that was accessed, it would be difficult for identities to be stolen. The company has notified law enforcement and has initiated a investigation.
It was not clear, and the company did not mention, if the breach was connected to a similar breach that McDonalds recently experienced through third party email provider Silverpop Systems. Silverpop has listed Honda as a client so it’s likely related. Walgreens also recently experienced a data breach related to its email marketing services.
The following email was sent to disclose the breach to customers:
Dear Customer,
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. recently became aware of unauthorized access to an email list used by a vendor to create a welcome email to customers who have an Owner Link or My Acura vehicle account. The data that was obtained included your email address, your name, Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and User ID. Your password was not included and no other sensitive information was contained in that list.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. As a company, we believe that all customer relationships must be built on trust. That is why we believe it is important to inform you of this incident. You may be aware of attacks on email marketing systems, therefore we want to assure you that we take the safeguarding of your information seriously and that the appropriate authorities have been contacted regarding this incident. Additionally, we have taken steps to minimize this type of exposure in the future.
As a Company, we encourage you to continue to be aware of the increasingly common email scams that may use your email address to contact you and ask for personal or sensitive information — Be cautious when opening links or attachments from unsolicited third parties. Also, know that American Honda Motor Co., Inc. will not send you emails asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personal information. If ever asked for this information, you can be confident it is not from us.
Again, let us reassure you that we are taking necessary steps to safeguard your personal information.
If you would like further information on this topic please visit honda.com/info/b
Thank you.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.