Gander Mountain Computer Stolen From PA Store

Gander Mountain Company announced that computer equipment, containing certain customer transaction information relating to a single store in Pennsylvania, is missing and may have been stolen. The transaction data relates only to customers who conducted business with the Gander Mountain store located in Greensburg, PA, during the period from July 2002 through June 2007.

    The stored transaction information may have included:

    -- Approximately 112,000 credit card numbers with expiration date but

       without any other associated information.

    -- Approximately 10,000 transaction records may have included the credit

       card number, expiration date and customer name.

    -- For the approximately 5,100 credit card customers who returned

       merchandise or did a lay-away purchase at the store during this period,

       the information also may have included an address.

    -- For the approximately 650 customers who purchased by check and returned

       merchandise without a receipt or put merchandise on lay-away by check

       payment, the information may have contained a name, address, driver's

       license number and date of birth.

The company has sent letters to the approximately 5,750 customers for whom address information is available informing them of this incident. The letter summarizes the steps the company has taken, including notifying the major credit card companies and the company's merchant card processing bank, establishing a customer toll-free helpline and Web site to answer questions, and working with authorities to locate the equipment. The letter also provides customers with recommended actions they can take to protect themselves, including telephone numbers for contacting the credit reporting agencies and carefully reviewing monthly statements and credit reports.

“Our primary goal is to prevent any harm to our customers affected by this situation,” said Mark Baker, Gander Mountain president and CEO. “We have no evidence that any of this information has been misused, or that the missing equipment was stolen with intent to steal data. We take this matter very seriously and regret any inconvenience to our customers who shopped at our Greensburg, Pennsylvania, store.”