Crime & Safety
San Mateo Barnes & Noble Among Stores Hacked
Retailer tells customers who have swiped their cards at any of the 63 affected stores nationwide to change their debit-card PIN numbers as a precaution and to check their statements for unauthorized transactions.

Barnes & Noble announced on Wednesday that customers who recently shopped at 63 of its stores, including its store in San Mateo and five others in the Bay Area, may have had their credit or debit card information stolen.
The bookstore chain said it discovered that one PIN pad device at each of the 63 stores had been tampered with, as thieves planted bugs that allowed credit card and PIN number to be captured. The company said it disconnected all PIN pads at its stores by Sept. 14 and that customers can continue using debit and credit cards through its cash registers.
The company said it did not know how many customers were affected. The stores are in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, Barnes & Noble said in a statement. See below for a full list of stores.
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Customers who have used a PIN pad at any of the affected stores as recently as last month are advised to change their debit-card PIN numbers as a precaution and to check their statements for unauthorized transactions.
The company said it notified federal law enforcement authorities and is supporting a federal investigation into the matter. The company is also working with banks, payment card brands and issuers to identify accounts that may have been compromised so banks and issuers can employ enhanced fraud security measures on potentially impacted accounts.
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Barnes & Noble said its own customer database remains secure and that purchases made through its webite and through its NOOK devices and apps were not impacted.
Here is a full list of stores affected:
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