Mann Theatres - Notification Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1798.82

Mann Theatres - Notification Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1798.82

LOS ANGELES, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Mann Theatres today announced that it is providing notice under California Civil Code Section 1798.82 regarding a possible breach of data security.

Mann Theatres has been advised by representatives of the United States Secret Service, Discover Financial, Visa and MasterCard that a number of theatres in the Mann Theatres chain in Southern California were a common point of use for credit cards which were subsequently counterfeited and used by unknown persons in unauthorized transactions. To address this concern, Mann Theatres engaged forensic auditors to investigate the purported breach and its scope. As of today, the investigation has not produced any evidence that any credit or debit card data from the files or computer systems of Mann Theatres actually has been misappropriated. However, the investigation indicated the potential for illegal acquisition of customer data, specifically a cardholder's name, account number, card expiration date and other card data permitting the manufacture of fraudulent cards for card-present transactions. Given that theatres in the Mann Theatres chain were a common point of use of the legitimate cards before the counterfeit card transactions occurred, and the possibility that some customer credit card and debit card information may have been compromised, Mann Theatres is taking a precautionary step to ensure consumers' protection by providing this notice.

Because the forensic auditors have not found evidence of misappropriated data in the systems of Mann Theatres, at this time Mann Theatres does not possess data that would indicate the first date of possible misuse of card information for credit cards and debit cards used at theatres in the Mann Theatres chain. To assist customers in assessing their risk, Mann Theatres requested that MasterCard, Visa and Discover Financial identify possible time frames of potential misuse. As a result of those inquiries, Mann Theatres understands that at least one issuing bank for MasterCard has identified the time of potential compromise as the period beginning on April 1, 2005 and concluding on March 8, 2006, and Discover Financial has indicated possible compromise of Discover credit cards used at theatres in the Mann Theatres chain between August 21, 2004 and January 21, 2006.

Based on this information, Mann Theatres recommends that, for additional assurance, customers who purchased tickets or concessions using MasterCard or Visa between April 1, 2005 and March 8, 2006, or using Discover between August 21, 2004 and January 21, 2006, contact their respective card organizations and/or the banks issuing such credit cards and debit cards with any questions or concerns. Mann Theatres also recommends that customers place a fraud alert on their credit files. A fraud alert lets creditors know to contact the customer before opening new accounts.

"It is a high priority of Mann Theatres to protect the financial information of our customers, and we regret any inconvenience," said Peter Dobson, CEO, Mann Theatres. "While there is still no clear evidence that there was an actual breach of our computer systems, we are, nonetheless, encouraging our credit card and debit card partners to alert potential victims. In addition, to ensure future protection for our customers' data, we have conducted a review of our point-of-sale systems and have enhanced our existing security systems, features and processes. We will continue to work with the card organizations, issuing banks and law enforcement authorities to investigate the matter and enhance our systems further, where appropriate."

Information about Mann Theatres. Mann Theatres is a chain of movie theatres based in Los Angeles, California. Mann Theatres operates 18 theatres and 113 screens in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area.

For more information on identity theft and the California Security Breach Information Act, please contact the California Office of Privacy Protection by phone, toll-free, at (866) 785-9663 or on the Internet at www.privacy.ca.gov.

Contact:
Tom Goff
Edelman Public Relations
Office: 323-202-1032
Mobile: 213-925-5876

Source: Mann Theatres

CONTACT: Tom Goff of Edelman Public Relations, +1-323-202-1032,
mobile +1-213-925-5876, for Mann Theatres

Web site: http://www.privacy.ca.gov/

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