Loblaw begins notifying about 2 million of data breach

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. says it is starting to notify about two million Canadians affected by a data breach in March, telling each of them which personal information was exposed, The Canadian Press reported Friday.

The grocer said the information that may have leaked includes a customer’s name, email address, home address, date of birth, loyalty card number, certain purchase order details and partial payment card information. Loblaw said the extent of the leak differs for each person and not every type of information was involved for every customer.

Loblaw is advising customers on next steps and asking them to beware of unexpected emails, calls or texts asking for personal information. It is offering free credit monitoring and identity restoration services through TransUnion, the Canadian Press said.

The company first disclosed the incident on March 10, when it said a criminal third party had accessed some customer information, such as names, phone numbers and email addresses, after suspicious activity on what it called a contained, non-critical part of its IT network. At the time, Loblaw said passwords, health information and credit card data were not compromised, and that PC Financial was not affected. It did not say how many customers were involved.

On Oct. 7, Grocery Business magazine reported that Loblaw had finished its investigation and would begin notifying affected customers directly in the coming weeks. In a statement, the company said it had worked with cybersecurity specialists to contain the incident, notified law enforcement and regulators, and strengthened its technology safeguards. “We take this matter seriously and remain committed to protecting our customers’ information,” the company said.

Anyone who gets an unexpected message that appears to come from Loblaw should avoid clicking links or opening attachments and should contact the company through its official website or customer service line instead. Loblaw has urged customers to stay cautious about requests for personal information by email, phone or text.

Loblaw is the parent company of Loblaws, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore and Shoppers Drug Mart. Its shares (TSX:L) were down about 2.7 per cent to $68.78 in mid-afternoon trading Friday, according to the Globe and Mail’s quote page.

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Sources: The Canadian Press (via The Globe and Mail), Grocery Business magazine.