Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Data Breach

NOTICE: If you used a credit or debit card at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit restaurant between July 2019 and August 2020 and/or have received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH, contact the Arnold Law Firm at (916) 777-7777.

On October 13, 2020, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit restaurant (commonly known as Dickey’s BBQ), the largest barbecue restaurant chain in the nation, was notified that stolen customer data had been posted on a popular card and fraud marketplace known as Joker’s Stash.

The extensive cyberattack began in July 2019. The hackers stole over 3 million customers’ credit card data over the past 13-15 months before advertising the massive collection of payment card details for sale on the dark web.

Security analysts say the security incident appears to have compromised 156 of Dickey’s 469 restaurant locations across 30 states, with the highest exposure in California and Arizona. The hacker advertised “valid rates” of between 90-100 percent, indicating that Dickey’s BBQ was unaware of the compromise and customers had not been notified.

The payment card records are related to outdated magnetic stripe technologies and are being sold for the average price of $17 a card. This type of data is commonly used to produce counterfeit cards for in-person payments.

Dickey’s confirmed the breach and claims to have reported the situation to law enforcement and payment card networks. The restaurant has not yet issued a formal data breach notification.

Many established franchise restaurant locations, such as Dickey’s, are permitted to decide the type of point-of-sale (POS) device and processors that they use. Franchise restaurants are often slow to make the credit card reader upgrades necessary to process chip-based payment cards versus less secure, older systems that rely on swiping a magnetic strip.

However, security experts believe a single central processor may have been compromised, because the widespread breach affected over a third of all Dickey’s locations.

Founded in 1941 in Texas, Dickey’s BBQ revenues are projected to reach $112 million this year with plans to expand to 500 stores.

The Arnold Law Firm’s Sacramento data breach lawyers will continue to monitor this data breach and provide updated information as our investigation continues.

If you used a credit or debit card at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit restaurant between July 2019 and August 2020 and/or have received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH, contact the Arnold Law Firm at (916) 777-7777 to discuss your situation and possible legal options.