Sands Casino Notifies Bethlehem Customers About Data Breach
By Ian Bush
BETHLEHEM, Pa., (CBS) -- Sands Casino has started notifying customers of its Bethlehem location whose personal information may now be in the hands of computer criminals.
Sands first thought its employees were the only target of a hack and web site takeover last month, but the company now admits that tens of thousands of slot and table game players and others registered at the Bethlehem casino could be victims.
Scott Vernick is a data privacy expert and attorney with Fox Rothschild in Philadelphia.
"Sands has said the personally identifiable information or the stolen sensitive data relates to social security and driver's license numbers, and that's obviously in combination with customers' first and last names," Vernick said.
But Sands, which revealed new details of the breach announced last month in a filing late Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, also warns that it's still working to learn the extent of the breach -- and that credit card and bank account information may have been compromised.
The company is sending letters to gamblers who were affected, offering a free year of credit monitoring. Vernick says keep a close eye on your account statements.
"Regrettably, this is the way of the world. But as this incident shows, every company should continue to improve on its ability to be proactive and be as vigilant it can when it comes to issues of data security," Vernick said.
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