October 30, 2009
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News: Kansas City Pub Victim Of Hacker
Police in Kansas City are warning customers that may have visited the Llywelyn Pub during the past six months to thoroughly check over their credit card statements for any suspicious or unauthorized transactions. According to Police spokesman, Jim Weaver, the department has already received over 100 complaints of fraudulent activity on their credit cards. One of the victims is the Pub's owner. After the police began investigating the complaints, they were able to link the credit card customer's to the Pub. The Secret Service has been called in to conduct the investigation which indicates that the criminals will be charged on a felony level.
Information received thus far indicates that the criminal is most likely a hacker who gained entrance somewhere between the point-of-sale and prior to reaching the credit card processing company where the card information was stolen. Investigators have ruled out any wrongdoing on the part of the credit card processing company and the pub's employees. It appears that most of the fraudulent transactions have occurred predominately in the southern states. One charge occurred in a Florida grocery store where the thief ran up more than $700 in fraudulent charges.
The owner of the pub stated that several of his servers, a bartender, as well as members of his own family had fallen victim to the credit card theft. Several customers have contacted the pub with complaints and the owner has tried to be upfront and honest with them regarding the crime. He says the customers have been very sympathetic and understanding and hopes he will not lose business because of the incident. A new computer system has been installed at the pub to safeguard future information. They have also sent out emails to all the customers on file telling them of the situation and thanking them for their understanding and business.