Pharmacy chain Rite Aid is alerting millions of customers that their personal information was potentially stolen last month in a cybersecurity breach.
In a July 15 notice, the Philadelphia-based retailer said it detected the incident June 6. That was about 12 hours after an unknown third party breached its network using an employee’s credentials.
After investigating the situation, Rite Aid said it discovered that the third party had acquired certain data associated with the purchase of specific retail products.
"This data included purchaser name, address, date of birth and driver’s license number or other form of government-issued ID presented at the time of a purchase between June 6, 2017, and July 30, 2018,” the company said.
No Social Security numbers, financial information or patient information was exposed in the incident, according to Rite Aid.
In a statement, the chain said, “We regret that this incident occurred and are implementing additional security measures to prevent potentially similar attacks in the future. We take our obligation to safeguard personal information very seriously and are alerting affected consumers about this incident.”
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Rite Aid the third-largest drugstore chain in the U.S. has over 1,700 locations nationally. Within New Jersey, there are 72 Rite Aid stores.
In addition to reporting the issue to law enforcement, Rite Aid said it notified federal and state regulators. It is also mailing letters to customers that were affected and has set up a phone line to answer questions.
Customers with questions should call 866-810-8094, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Central Time. According to Rite Aid, the line will remain open until Oct. 15.
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The breach comes as Rite Aid continues to shrink its brick-and-mortar footprint following its
Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in October 2023. Since seeking court protection, Rite Aid has closed more than 520 stores. That includes six in New Jersey: Clementon, Haddon Township, Newark, Bayonne, Newton and Logan Township.
Under a restructuring plan approved earlier this month by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan in Trenton, Rite Aid is expected to emerge from the process with around 1,300 locations.
According to Reuters , Rite Aid plans to exit bankruptcy in about a month, funded by $2.55 billion in lender financing. The company also plans to cut its debt by about $2 billion and turn over control to its key creditors.
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