Vans, a popular footwear brand, wants you to be careful because hackers got into their system and got hold of some of your personal information.
They sent out a warning to all their customers, saying there’s a higher chance now of someone trying to steal your identity, trick you into giving away your details (called phishing), or cheat you (fraud) because of what happened on December 13th, 2022.
It was a big mess for Vans’ parent company, VF Corp, which had to stop some of its computer systems from working properly during the holiday season. VF Corp makes lots of famous brands, like The North Face, Vans, Timberland, and others.
Vans let people know that the hackers got into their systems and could see things like their email addresses, full names, phone numbers, where they live, and where they get their stuff delivered. In some cases, the hackers even saw what people bought and how much they paid.
Vans also made sure to say that they never keep any important financial information, like bank details or credit card numbers, in their computer systems. So, there’s no chance that the hackers got that kind of info.
They told their customers to be careful and to really think about any emails, text messages, or calls they get, even if they seem to be from Vans.
People were warned to be especially careful with emails that have links in them, as those links could take them to bad websites. They were also told to watch out for any strange emails or attachments, even if they seem to be from someone they know.
The hack affected more than 35 million people, according to a report that VF Corp had to send to the US government.
VF Corp is a big company with over 1265 stores and makes about $11 billion in sales every year, according to its website.
After the hack, the group of hackers, known as ALPHV/BlackCat, had their own problems when the FBI took control of one of their websites, shutting down a place where they would publish stolen information.
