Lucky Stores Hit By ID Theft In Bay Area

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — At least 80 employees and customers at more than two dozen Lucky Supermarkets' stores in the San Francisco Bay area have had their bank accounts compromised after thieves tampered with the credit and debit card readers in self-checkout lines.

The chain, which announced the breach on Monday, said many of those people had money stolen from their accounts.

The crooks apparently managed to place skimmers into the readers at 23 stores that captured the customers' bank numbers.

The chain — part of Modesto-based Save Mart Supermarkets — recommends that anyone who used self-checkout terminals in the affected stores in the past few months should close their accounts immediately.

Lucky customers who believe they were affected by fraudulent use of their credit or debit cards should contact the chain's customer support center.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.