ORLANDO, Fla. – G.H. Bass & Co., a popular shoe store, announced Thursday that one of the registers at its store near International Drive had a device on it that recorded the personal information of its customers. The store is on Vineland Avenue at Orlando Premium Outlets.
A company spokesperson said they are launching an investigation to figure out how the device got hooked up to one of its registers and exactly how much information was stolen.
So far the store isn't sure how many customers are affected, but they say the device recorded the customers' names, card numbers, personal identification numbers and email addresses. They're warning anyone who shopped at the store between Aug. 13 and Sept. 12 their credit cards could be compromised.
Local 6 spoke to a shopper on vacation who said he's not surprised these scams keep happening.
"We come from a different country, so it's going to be scary for us, but now we know and we'll probably go somewhere else," said Christopher Bond, who is visiting Orlando from England with his family. "I think it happens all over the world with employees now, we get it a lot in England as well."
Experts said the best way to protect yourself is to check your bank statements and credit reports frequently. The company said right now they don't plan to alert customers by email about the breach.
"We regret any inconvenience this may have caused," a release from the company stated. "Keeping customer information secure is a top priority at G.H. Bass & Co., and our asset protection group has enhanced its policies and procedures designed to prevent unauthorized devices from being connected to registers located in Bass stores."
Contact G.H. Bass & Co Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET at 800-345-9787.