Officials are warning shoppers at Shaw's stores throughout Maine and New England, to check credit card statements carefully, following a data breach earlier this summer at the grocery store chain.
Store officials disclosed the breach , which they say likely occurred between June 22 and July 17, on Friday.
Parent company AB Acquisition LLC, says it's working with its third party IT services provider, SUPERVALU, to understand what happened, but customer account numbers, expiration dates, and other data may have been exposed. SUPERVALU is the former owner of the chain but still provides technology services.
Shaw's president Jim Rice says it isn't clear yet whether any customer data has actually been stolen. As of Friday, the chain had not been aware of any data misuse, but, Rice cautions that customers should keep an eye out for anomalies on their credit card statements for the breach period.
"Importantly," says Rice, " Shaws believes that the intrusion has been contained and is confident that its customers can safely use their credit and debit cards in its stores."
The first Shaw's store was established in Portland Maine in 1860; today, the chain has 22 stores statewide.