Restaurant chain PDQ says customers' credit card info was hacked

PDQ, a fast-casual dining restaurant with several locations in the Triangle, is warning customers about a cyber attack on its computer systems in which hackers were able to access or acquire personal information from the chain's customers who paid with credit cards.

Posted 3:19 p.m. Jun 23, 2018 — Updated 3:18 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

Alfred Charles

, Online Managing Editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — PDQ, a fast-casual dining restaurant with several locations in the Triangle, is warning customers about a cyber attack on its computer systems in which hackers were able to access or acquire personal information from the chain's customers who paid with credit cards.

In a statement posted to the company's website, the chain disclosed that it had been targeted and that the breach lasted nearly a year, from May 19, 2017 to April 20, 2018.

"We have been the target of a cyber-attack," said the online statement, which has a June 2018 date. "An unauthorized person (hacker) exploited part of our computer related system and accessed and or acquired personal information from some of our customers."

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According to the company's website, it has at least 10 restaurants in the Triangle, including locations in North Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cary, Durham and Fayetteville. The company also has a location at PNC Arena in Raleigh, but officials said that location along with two others in Tampa, Florida were not affected by the cyber hack.

PDQ's online statement said the information that was improperly accessed included customers' names, credit card numbers, expiration dates and card verification codes. The company said, however, that some credit card verification data may be different from the security code printed on the back of some credit cards.

"If you used a credit card for your purchase at a PDQ restaurant during the breach period, then your credit card number, expiration date, cardholder verification value and or name may have been accessed or acquired by a hacker," the company's online statement said.

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PDQ said they reported the attack to law enforcement agencies and hired a cyber-security firm to conduct a review of how the attack happened.

"We have taken steps to further strengthen the security of our systems to help prevent this type of incident from happening again," the company's statement said.