Markets Wired

ATLANTA, Oct. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli, and Schlotzsky’s today provided additional information regarding the payment card security incident we initially notified customers of on August 20, 2019.

We immediately began an investigation, took action to identify and stop the unauthorized activity, and forensic investigation firms were engaged. Law enforcement and the payment card networks were notified. 

A thorough investigation is being conducted and is nearly complete.  It appears that unauthorized code designed to copy payment card data from cards used in person was installed at certain corporate and franchised Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli, and Schlotzsky’s restaurant locations at different times over the general period of April 11, 2019 to July 22, 2019.  The unauthorized code was not found at all locations, and at most of the locations where it was found it was present for only a few weeks in July 2019.  The unauthorized code searched for track data read from the magnetic stripe of a payment card as it was being routed through a restaurant’s server.  The code often found the part of track data that contains the card number, expiration date, and internal verification code, and sometimes it found the part that also includes the cardholder name.  It is possible the code did not find every card that had been used at each location during the time frames involved.

A list of the locations involved and the respective time frames, which vary by location, is available at www.moes.com/paymentcardnotification, www.mcalistersdeli.com/paymentcardnotification, and www.schlotzskys.com/paymentcardnotification. These sites also provide information about the incident and additional steps customers may take.

Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli, and Schlotzsky’s quickly took measures to contain the incident, remove the unauthorized code, and they are working to implement measures to further enhance payment card security.  Nonetheless, it is always advisable to remain vigilant to the possibility of fraud by reviewing your payment card statements for any unauthorized activity.  You should immediately report any unauthorized charges to the bank that issued your card, because payment card rules generally provide that cardholders are not responsible for unauthorized charges reported in a timely manner.  The phone number to call is usually on the back of your payment card.   

For more information regarding this incident, customers may visit the sites listed above or call (877) 269-5073 Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. ET.

SOURCE Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli, and Schlotzsky’s