P.F. Chang’s hit with data breach

A P.F. Chang’s China Bistro restaurant in Palo Alto is one of 33 of the chain’s outlets where credit and debit card information of customers may have been stolen, the company’s chief executive said today.

The Arizona-based company has a team of forensics experts working on the security breach since the U.S. Secret Service informed P.F. Chang’s about it on June 10, CEO Rick Federico said in a statement.

The breach, which made it possible for the database intruder to access card numbers, cardholder names and card expiration dates, began on April 10 and was halted as of June 11, Federico said.

P.F. Chang’s posted a list of 33 restaurants across the country where credit and debit card information might have been stolen. The list is available on the company’s website at pfchangs.com/security.

The only Bay Area restaurant on the list was at 900 Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto. Others include seven restaurants in Southern California and outlets in New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Nevada and Washington.

The company does not yet know if any credit card data was actually stolen, but customers who used their cards at one of the 33 restaurants from April 10 to June 10 should review their account statements for unusual activity and notify their card companies if they find any, Federico said.

Customers who discover their identity and credit information have been misused may file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which can be reached by phone at (877) 438-4338, company officials said.

P.F. Chang’s has enrolled affected customers in an identity protection service called AllClear Secure for the next 12 months.

Customers experiencing problems with identity theft may call the service at (877) 412-7152, according to Federico.

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