GREENSBORO, NC -- While investigators and PF Chang's executives are trying to figure out how credit card data was breached earlier this month (June 10), the restaurant chain is going old school when it comes to taking your credit card payments.
Check out the return of the manual imprinting devices. My guess is you haven't heard that noise in years much less seen one of these machines. To jog your memory you'll get a slip with your name, your entire credit card number and expiration date on it---and so will the restaurant
PF Chang's website reveals the chain is handling the storage and destruction of the slips with the processes the credit and debit card companies approved.
We asked the North Carolina Attorney General for what those guidelines could entail: PF Chang's would be required to store records related to these transactions in a safe manner and dispose of them in a safe manner. In NC that would mean the manual imprint would have to be burned, pulverized or shredded. Because there is a complete card number on the manual imprint, there could be a security breach if they were disposed of in some other manner or compromised in some other way. The breach law in NC applies to paper, which is not the case in many other states, so the paper manual imprint receipt portion retained by the company must be protected and disposed of properly.
But what if you don't like the idea of this slip hanging around and you'd rather take your chances with a computer swipe?
2WTK found out you can, but it will might take you longer to check out.
According to the chain all PF Chang's locations have one encryption-enabled terminal to securely process transactions. It uses a dial up fax line. But YOU have to ASK for this secure terminal.
All consumers, whether you were caught in this particular security breach or not, should be checking their bills consistently. And you need to check your credit report three times a year. You are entitled to a FREE credit report from each of the credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and Trans-Union. This month get one from Experian, in 4 months get one from Equifax and 4 months after that get one from Trans-Union. The ONLY truly free credit report is: AnnualCreditReport.
