Barnes and Noble said Tuesday that devices customers use to swipe credit cards and debit cards have been tampered with at 63 of its stores, including seven in the Chicago area.
New York-based Barnes & Noble is warning customers to check for unauthorized transactions and to change their personal identification numbers or pins.
There is no estimate of how man accounts may have been compromised.
All PIN pads were disconnected on Sept. 14, 2012 in its nearly 700 stores nationwide after Barnes & Noble learned of the tampering.
Customers at Barnes & Noble bookstores will now have to ask cashiers to swipe credit or debit cards on card readers connected to cash registers, a process that is reported to be secure.
The customer database is reported to be secure and transactions for items purchased online at BN.com or via Nook devices are reported to be secure.
Barnes & Noble has 30 stores in Illinois. Nearby stores include Arlington Heights, Bloomingdale, Bolingbrook, Chicago at Clybourn, Chicago at State and Elm, Crystal Lake, Deer Park, Evanston, Geneva, Joliet, Lincolnshire, Naperville, Oak Brook, Orland Park, Plainfield, Schaumburg, Skokie, Vernon Hills, and West Dundee.
As of 4:30 a.m. October 24, 2012 there are no alerts or press release archives giving notice of the credit card device tampering.
Perhaps later there will be additional information and updates, on the Barnes & Noble website at www.barnesandnobleinc.com. Customers might also call 1-888-471-7809.
Get updates from The Cardinal CRIME BLOG ‘Plus’ on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Crime & Forensics’ Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts in the 24/7 Crime Alerts! and sub-categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …