Chipotle says customer credit card data stolen from most stores

People who ate at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants around the Triangle should keep an eye on their credit and debit card statements. Hackers stole customer credit card numbers between March and April from Chipotle locations around the country, including more than a dozen stores in central North Carolina.

Chipotle said the company found malicious software stealing credit card data from its point-of-sale system between March 24 and April 18. Company spokesman Chris Arnold told USA Today that the data breach affected most of Chipotle’s 2,249 restaurants.

Chipotle initially reported the hack on April 25, but the company released more information Friday.

“The malware searched for track data (which sometimes has cardholder name in addition to card number, expiration date, and internal verification code) read from the magnetic stripe of a payment card as it was being routed through the POS device,” the company said in a press release. The time frame for when hackers were able to steal credit card numbers differs by store

Chipotle said the company was able to remove the malware and “continues to work with cyber security firms to evaluate ways to enhance its security measures.”

“Because of the nature of the incident and the data involved, we lack sufficient information to determine how many unique payment cards may have been involved,” Arnold told USA Today.

The affected stores include most Chipotle locations in North Carolina. The company released a tool on its website to see which stores were affected on what dates.

In central North Carolina, Chipotle says a number of stores were affected:

Apex

1081 Pine Plaza Drive, March 27-April 18

Cary

204 Crossroads Blvd., March 27-April 18

100 Wrenn Drive, March 25-April 18

Chapel Hill

301 West Franklin St., March 25-April 18

1490 Fordham Blvd., April 11-April 18

Durham

The Streets of Southpoint, 6910 Fayetteville Road, March 26-April 18

3219 Watkins Road, March 26-April 18

2608 Erwin Road, March 25-April 18

Fuquay-Varina

1385 N. Main St., April 11-April 18

Garner

68 Eagle Wing Way, April 11-April 18

Morrisville

1516 Village Market Place, March 26-April 18

Raleigh

9504 Strickland Road, March 27-April 18

6602-3 Glenwood Ave., March 27-April 18

6102 Falls of Neuse Road, March 25-April 18

6081 Capital Blvd., March 27-April 18

2316 Hillsborough St., March 26-April 18

Smithfield

120 S. Equity Drive, March 27-April 18

This story was originally published May 27, 2017 at 1:24 PM with the headline "Chipotle says customer credit card data stolen from most stores."