Looks Like Panera Bread May Have Leaked Millions of Customer’s Data

If only there were a way to stop data leaks. A solution as simple as ordering online… wait, that’s what got us in trouble in the first place.

The geniuses over at Panera Bread managed to leak millions of customer records for the past eight months at least, according to a KrebsOnSecurity report.

The cybersecurity blog claims anyone who signed up for an online account had their personal information — names, email, addresses, birthdays and the last four digits of their card numbers — revealed in plain text on the Panera Bread website.

Apparently, Panera knew about the leak back in August 2017 but dismissed it as a scam. Oy vey.

Panera Bread Stopped the Leak… For Now

Panera took its website offline briefly yesterday to fix the leak, and when it came back up, customer’s personal information was no longer accessible.

After things started to get a little crispy, Panera Bread said that fewer than 10,000 consumers were affected — while KrebsOnSecurity said it’s more like 37 million.

Panera Bread said it will continue investigating the issue and claims no payment card information had been retrieved from the leak.

What to Do if You Have an Online Panera Bread Account

If you have a loyalty card number, be on watch, because those were apparently exposed in the Panera Bread data leak, too.

Scammers could use any prepaid values or points before you even notice. (Maybe you should go cash those in today.)

Always be mindful of sharing personal information, even if it’s with a “trusted” company, because, well, this.

Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot else to be done right now other than monitoring your credit and bank statements for any suspicious activity.

It doesn’t look like the breadmaker’s blunder will go stale anytime soon, so stay tuned.

Stephanie Bolling is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. Mmmm, bread.