That Chili’s Baby Back Rib Craving Is Coming Back to Haunt Your Credit

Many poor decisions have been made at Chili’s Grill & Bar. But most of those mistakes were your own doing, not the work of a hacker.

Chili’s parent company, Brinker International Inc., announced May 12 that it recently learned of a data breach. Customer data was compromised between March and April 2018, and the breach only affected some guests at certain Chili’s locations, a statement explained.

“We are working with third-party forensic experts to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the details of what happened,” the release stated. “Law enforcement has been notified of this incident and we will continue to fully cooperate.”

Credit and debit card information and customer names are suspected to have been stolen from payment systems inside restaurants.

The chain recommends monitoring your financial statements and setting up fraud alerts or security freezes on your credit file.

It’s been a rough few years for breaches as retailers and restaurants struggle to provide safe digital payment options.

Luxury retailer Hudson’s Bay Co. discovered a data breach in April that affected shoppers at New York and New Jersey locations.

Pizza Hut experienced a breach of some online order information last October. Sonic’s payment systems got hacked in September. Kmart last June. Chipotle a year ago in May.

No craving or impulse buy is safe.

Lisa Rowan is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder who covers the retail and grocery industries.