SuperValu announces possible data breach

Published August 15, 2014 by Veronica Garabelli

Eden Prairie, Minn.-based SuperValu announced this week that cardholder data may have been stolen from June 22 to July 17 at its stores, including almost 60 Farm Fresh and Shopper’s grocery stores in Virginia. For a list of stores that were possibly impacted, click here.

“The safety of our customers’ personal information is a top priority for us,” SuperValu’s President and CEO Sam Duncan said in a statement.  “The intrusion was identified by our internal team, it was quickly contained, and we have had no evidence of any misuse of any customer data.  I regret any inconvenience that this may cause our customers but want to assure them that it is safe to shop in our stores.”

SuperValu says the intrusion may have resulted in the theft of account numbers, and in some cases also the expiration date, other numerical information and/or the cardholder’s name, from payment cards used at its owned and franchised stores.  SuperValu, however, has not determined that any cardholder data was stolen, and it has no evidence of any misuse of such data, but is making this announcement out of caution.

SuperValu is offering customers whose payment cards may have been affected 12 months of complimentary consumer identity protection services through AllClear ID. The grocery wholesaler also has established a call center to answer customer questions about the intrusion and the identity protection services being offered that may be reached at (855) 731-6018.  Customers can also visit www.supervalu.com under the Consumer Security Advisory section for more information about the intrusion and the AllClear ID services being offered.

SuperValu notes that customers are not responsible for counterfeit fraudulent charges on their credit cards or debit cards that are timely reported.  If customers become aware of such activity, they should contact their bank immediately. 

The company says third-party data forensics experts are conducting an investigation to understand the nature and scope of the incident.  Due to the on-going nature of the investigation, it’s possible that time frames, locations and/or at-risk data in addition to those described above will be identified in the future.

SuperValu is one of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in the U.S. with annual sales of approximately $17 billion.  Its network includes 3,320 stores, including 1,805 independent stores; 1,325 Save-A-Lot stores and 190 grocery stores. The company employs approximately 35,000 employees.

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