Fast food chain Chick-fil-A is the latest company to be plagued by security issues at payment terminals, with financial institutions reportedly tracing suspicious activity back to a string of outlets in the US.
Although not yet verified, it is thought that theft of customer card data could have occurred at the point of sale in “a few” restaurants. Chick-fil-A has issued a statement assuring customers that any fraudulent activity will be the responsibility of either the chain or the relevant card issuers, and reiterating that they are working with authorities and banks to establish exactly what happened.
“We want to assure our customers we are working hard to investigate these events and will share additional facts as we are able to do so,” the company said.
It is an unwelcome start to 2015 for the fast food giant, which has had its fair share of PR headaches over the past few years. In December, the company was accused of bullying small business owners after a failed attempt to stop an entrepreneur from trademarking the phrase “Eat More Kale,” claiming that it was too close to their “Eat Mor Chikin” marketing slogan. In 2012 stores were also boycotted after it was revealed that Chick-fil-A’s owners were donating millions of dollars to groups seeking to curtail LGBT rights. The company eventually backed down and withdrew their support.
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