Acer Online Store Breach Exposes Credit Cards, Names, Addresses

Buy anything off the Acer online store? If so, you'll definitely want to keep a close eye on the email address associated with your Acer account (or the purchase in question), as it's possible that you're one of 34,500 or so customers whose credit card information, names, and addresses were potentially stolen in a hack.

According to a letter Acer submitted to the California Attorney General's office, the breach affects those who shopped on Acer's U.S. online site between May 12 of last year and April 28, 2016.

"Based on our records, we have determined that your information may have been affected, potentially including your name, address, card number ending in [insert], expiration date and three-digit security codes. We do not collect Social Security numbers, and we have not identified evidence indicating that password or login credentials were affected," the letter reads.

Our advice? If you haven't received an email from Acer indicating your credentials were swiped, it's probably worth at least changing your password. And if you did get that email, you should change your password anyway just in case.

Acer is not offering up access to any free credit-card monitoring services, nor anything similar to that, for those potentially affected by the hack. Instead, its letter suggests that those affected should sign up for fraud alerts or security freezes with one of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. You're welcome to file a police report if you feel you are a victim of identity theft as a result of the hack, and you should definitely monitor your credit reports—since you get a free one each year—for any unpleasantness.

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Though the breach only affected the company's U.S. online store, Acer cautions that those who either made purchases on Acer's sites during the time period or access the U.S. store with their accounts could possibly be affected as well. As the International Business Times notes, it's worth keeping a close eye on your credit cards for odd spending or any signs of identity theft.

"We value the trust you place in us. We regret this incident occurred, and we will be working hard to enhance our security," Acer's letter said.