Warn clients about Starbucks card hack

By Staff | May 15, 2015 | Last updated on May 15, 2015
1 min read

You might ask for non-fat milk in your coffee, but some customers at Starbucks who use online gift cards say they’ve been victims of a different kind of skim, reports CTV.

Americans customers who use the Starbucks wallet mobile app to pay for their purchases say hackers are using it to steal hundreds of dollars from their linked bank accounts and credit cards.

Read: Tell clients to haggle with banks over fees

The hackers are allegedly exploiting a feature of Starbucks’ online gift cards that allows them to be automatically topped up from a linked account when they’re low. They’re selling the gift cards on the black market, says CTV.

Starbucks has acknowledged the problem in a statement, and says customers who have weak passwords on their coffee accounts are to blame.

The coffee chain says customers should contact their financial institutions immediately if they suspect they’re affected.

Read more here.

Also read:

Banking errors push companies to seek alternatives

Identity theft in Canada at an all-time high

Advisor.ca staff

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.