On Friday, Best Buy released a statement online that a 3rd-party company they use to chat with customers suffered a data breach. The company, [24]7.ai, runs the chat services for customers coming to Best Buy through their phone or computer.

[24]7.ai told Best Buy that their information suggested that an "illegal intrusion" happened between Sept. 27 and Oct. 12, 2017. [24]7.ai said that some customer payment information may have been compromised during that time and, if that were the case, then a number of Best Buy customers would have had their payment information compromised, as well.

Best Buy later said that they think "only a small fraction of the overall online customer population could have been caught up in this [24]7.ai incident, whether or not they used the chat function."

Best Buy will be contacting those who have been affected directly. Those who were affected will be offered free credit monitoring services. If you think you might have been affected or you have other questions about this incident your are asked to email Best Buy at 247incident@bestbuy.com.

No matter the case it seems a lot of retailers have been hit recently, so here are some tips to help you monitor your credit and bank accounts:

  • Review your payment card account statements closely. Report fraudulent activity or suspected identity theft to your payment card issuer.
  • Monitor your free credit reports closely. You are entitled to one free credit report annually. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll free at 1-877-322-8228. We encourage you to review your account statements and monitor your free credit reports.

I don't know about you but I think I am going to go back to using checks..

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