Late last week, Earl Enterprises reported they'd became aware of a data security incident potentially affecting payment card information of a limited number of guests that dined at certain Earl Enterprises’ restaurants. Earl Enterprises operates three Disney Springs locations: Earl of Sandwich, Planet Hollywood, and Chicken Guy!
What’s happening:
- Earl Enterprises has reported that several of their restaurants’ may have been affected by a data security breach.
- Potentially affected restaurants include the following brands:
- Buca di Beppo
- Earl of Sandwich
- Planet Hollywood
- Chicken Guy!
- Mixology
- Tequila Taqueria
- Earl Enterprises says, “We are providing this notice to our guests to inform them of the incident and steps they can take to help protect themselves. The security and privacy of our guests’ payment card data is a top priority, and Earl Enterprises deeply regrets that this incident occurred.”
Important details:
- Earl Enterprises says, “once we learned of a potential incident, we promptly launched an internal investigation and engaged two leading cybersecurity firms.”
- As part of the investigation, they have been in contact with federal law enforcement officials.
- Based on the investigation, it appears that unauthorized individuals installed malicious software on some point-of-sale systems at a certain number of Earl Enterprises’ restaurants.
- A full list of potentially affected restaurant locations is available here.
What Information was involved
- The malicious software was designed to capture payment card data, which could have included credit and debit card numbers, expiration dates and, in some cases, cardholder names.
- Although the dates of potentially affected transactions vary by location, guests that used their payment cards at potentially affected locations between May 23, 2018 and March 18, 2019 may have been affected by this incident. Online orders paid for online through third-party applications or platforms were not affected by this incident.
Next steps:
- Earl Enterprises reports the incident has been contained, and they are continuing to work diligently with security experts on further remediation efforts.
- Guests who believe they might have been affected are encouraged to carefully review credit and debit card account statements as soon as possible for suspicious charges or activity they do not recognize.
- If guests see anything they do not recognize, they should immediately notify the issuer of the credit or debit card.
- In instances of payment card fraud, it is important to note that cardholders are typically not responsible for any fraudulent activity that is reported in a timely fashion.
- Guests can also review the “Information about Identity Theft Protection” reference guide, included below which describes additional steps that you can take to help protect yourself, including recommendations by the Federal Trade Commission regarding identity theft protection and details on placing a fraud alert or a security freeze on your credit file.
For More Information:
- Guests may obtain additional information by calling Earl Enterprise’s dedicated call center toll-free at 888-437-2399 between 9 am – 9 pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except holidays).
- They can also review FAQs, included in the security breach report.