Area Barnes & Noble Card Readers Were Hacked, Crystal Lake Store Among Them

The Barnes & Noble store at 5380 Route 14 in Crystal Lake was among 63 stores across the country where credit card data stored on PIN pads was hacked, according to the company. 

Barnes & Noble released a list of stores where data was breached on Tuesday. Stores in affected by the tampering in include the Barnes & Noble store at 1468 Springhill Mall Blvd. in West Dundee as well as two stores in Chicago, one in Deer Park, one in Deerfield and one in Evanston. 

The company inspected every PIN pad in the nearly 700 stores nationwide and has discontinued use of all its PIN pads on Sept. 14, according to a press release from the bookseller.

Barnes & Noble described the hacking as “a sophisticated criminal effort to steal credit card information, debit card information, and debit card PIN numbers from customers who swiped their cards through PIN pads when they made purchase.” 

The federal government is also investigating the crime, according to Barnes & Noble. Purchases on the company’s website, on NOOKs and NOOK mobile apps remain secure, according to the news release. 

Customers who swiped their cards at any of the Barnes & Noble stores affected are encouraged to change the PIN numbers on their debit cards, review their accounts for unauthorized transactions and notify banks immediately if they find anything suspicious. 

A full list of the 63 affected stores can be found on Barnes & Noble’s website.