Data breach prompts 7-Eleven Japan to suspend app
July 9, 2019
7-Eleven Japan Co. temporarily shut down its mobile payment app last week following a data breach that impacted about 900 customers resulting in about $506,000 in fraudulent transactions, according to a press release.
The company said it received a customer inquiry on July 2 regarding unauthorized charges. After investigating the incident, the company discovered hackers breached certain accounts that use the 7pay app, which uses a barcode scanner.
The hackers reportedly accessed the user account, impersonated the authorized user and made fraudulent purchases on the card that was stored on the app, according to the release. Officials apologized for the breach and said customers will be compensated for the charges and the breach will be thoroughly investigated. A customer support emergency number has been set up to help customers impacted by the breach.
Two Chinese men were reportedly arrested in connection with the breach and government regulators told the 7-Eleven operator in Japan that they failed to take the necessary steps to secure the app.
Topics: Customer Experience, Data Security, Mobile Payments, Mobile Retail, Online Retailing / eCommerce, Payments, POS / Point of Purchase, Retail - Convenience Stores, Technology
Companies: 7-Eleven
Gloss