NEW YORK — Barnes and Noble said that devices used to swipe credit and debit cards were tampered with in 63 stores around the country, including eight in New York City.
The bookstore called the hack a "sophisticated criminal effort to steal credit card information, debit card information, and debit card PIN numbers," from customers who used PIN pads to swipe cards to purchase items at the stores.
The perpetrators allegedly planted bugs on the pads, a Barnes and Noble spokesman said. The company discovered the tampered machines on September 14.
Barnes and Noble said on Wednesday that less than 1% of pads were affected. They did not say how many people were affected.
In New York City, five stores in Manhattan, two in Queens and one in Staten Island had bugged PIN pads.
The locations in New York are:
160 E 54th St., Manhattan.
2289 Broadway, Manhattan.
33 East 17th St., Manhattan.
555 Fifth Ave., Manhattan.
97 Warren St., Manhattan.
2245 Richmond Ave., Staten Island, NY
23-80 Bell Blvd., Bayside, Queens.
176-60 Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows, Queens.
Barnes and Noble urged customers who shop at the locations listed to check for any unauthorized use on their accounts and to change their PIN numbers. The company is in talks with federal law enforcement investigating the hack.
