Vera Bradley Notifies Customers of Payment Card Incident
October 12 2016 - 9:00AM
Vera Bradley, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRA) (“Vera Bradley” or the “Company”)
today announced that it has taken action to investigate and address
an incident affecting payment card data used at its retail stores.
Payment cards used at Vera Bradley store locations between July
25, 2016 and September 23, 2016 may have been affected. Not all
cards used in stores during this time frame were affected. Cards
used on verabradley.com were not affected. Information on
steps customers may take to protect their information can be found
at www.verabradley.com/protectingourcustomers.
On September 15, 2016, Vera Bradley was provided information
from law enforcement regarding a potential data security issue
related to our retail store network. Upon learning this
information, Vera Bradley immediately launched an investigation
with the assistance of a leading computer security firm to
aggressively gather facts and determine the scope of the issue and
promptly notified the payment card networks. Findings from the
investigation show unauthorized access to Vera Bradley’s payment
processing system and the installation of a program that looked for
payment card data. The program was specifically designed to find
track data in the magnetic stripe of a payment card that may
contain the card number, cardholder name, expiration date, and
internal verification code as the data was being routed through the
affected payment systems. There is no indication that other
customer information was at risk.
Vera Bradley has stopped this incident and continues to work
with the computer security firm to further strengthen the security
of its systems to help prevent this from happening in the future.
Vera Bradley continues to support law enforcement’s investigation
and is also working with the payment card networks so that the
banks that issue payment cards can be made aware and initiate
heightened monitoring on the affected cards.
Potentially affected customers are advised to remain vigilant to
the possibility of fraud by regularly reviewing their payment card
statements for any unauthorized activity. Customers should
immediately report any unauthorized charges to their card issuer
because payment card rules generally provide that cardholders are
not responsible for unauthorized charges reported in a timely
manner. The phone number to call is usually on the back of the
payment card.
Vera Bradley values the relationship it has with its customers
and understands the importance of protecting personal information
and therefore sincerely regrets any inconvenience this may have
caused its customers. If customers have any questions, they may
call 844-723-9340 from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EDT, Monday through
Friday.
About Vera Bradley, Inc.
Vera Bradley is a leading designer of women's handbags, luggage
and travel items, fashion and home accessories and unique gifts.
Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia
R. Miller, the brand's innovative designs, iconic patterns and
brilliant colors continue to inspire and connect women unlike any
other brand in the global marketplace. The Company's commitment to
bringing more beauty into women's lives includes its dedication to
breast cancer research through the Vera Bradley Foundation for
Breast Cancer. For more information about Vera Bradley
(Nasdaq:VRA), visit www.verabradley.com.
Vera Bradley Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this release are "forward-looking
statements" made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current
expectations or beliefs concerning future events and are subject to
various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to
differ materially from those that we expected, including: possible
adverse changes in general economic conditions and their impact on
consumer confidence and spending; possible inability to predict and
respond in a timely manner to changes in consumer demand; possible
loss of key management or design associates or inability to attract
and retain the talent required for our business; possible inability
to maintain and enhance our brand; possible inability to
successfully implement our growth strategies or manage our growing
business; possible inability to successfully open new stores as
planned; adverse changes in the cost of raw materials and labor
used to manufacture our products; possible adverse effects
resulting from a significant disruption in our single distribution
facility; and possible ramifications from the payment card incident
disclosed in October 2016. More information on potential
factors that could affect the Company’s financial results is
included from time to time in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations” sections of the Company’s public reports filed with the
SEC, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
January 30, 2016. We undertake no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statement. Financial
schedules are attached to this release.
CONTACTS:
Julia Bentley, VP of Investor Relations and Communications
jbentley@verabradley.com
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