America’s Thrift Stores informed customers on Friday that their payment card details might have been stolen by a piece of malware planted on the company’s systems by cybercriminals allegedly located in Eastern Europe.
America’s Thrift Stores is a for-profit company that collects used clothing and household items from local communities and sells them for a profit, which it shares with Christian charities. The firm operates 18 stores in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
A statement released on Friday by Kenneth Sobaski, the CEO of America’s Thrift Stores, informs customers that malicious actors exploited software used by a third-party service provider to plant a piece of malware designed to steal payment card data. Customers who used their credit or debit cards to acquire items at America’s Thrift Stores between September 1 and September 27 are affected.
According to the company, the U.S. Secret Service has determined that the attackers only managed to steal payment card numbers and expiration dates. There is no evidence that names, addresses and email addresses have also been compromised.
However, security blogger Brian Krebs reported on Monday that his sources in the banking industry had spotted a pattern of fraud on cards used at America’s Thrift Stores, which indicates that the stolen data might have already been put to good use by fraudsters.
Individuals affected by the incident have been advised to keep a close eye on their credit and debit card statements and immediately report any fraudulent activity to the card issuer.
America’s Thrift Stores is not the only charity organization whose systems have been targeted by cybercriminals. Last year, Goodwill Industries International alerted customers after attackers breached the systems of a company that processes payments for twenty Goodwill members, representing roughly 10 percent of all stores.
Goodwill’s investigation revealed that the attackers had access to the third party vendor’s systems for a year and a half, and leveraged point-of-sale (PoS) malware to steal data which they used for fraudulent purchases.