While it’s certainly not on the scale of the recent Target breach, ‘wichcraft, the chain of sandwich shops co-founded by Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio, announced yesterday that its payment card system for locations in NYC and San Francisco was compromised for several weeks earlier this year, giving hackers access to customers’ names, card numbers, security codes, and expiration dates.

According to a statement posted on the chain’s website [PDF], the hack began around Aug. 11 and continued until Oct. 2. While the company says it immediately took steps to prevent future hacks and that it’s working with law enforcement to help investigate the incident, there is no information provided as to why no announcement was made about the breach until Dec. 30.

“We take our obligation to safeguard your personal information very seriously,” reads the statement. “We are alerting affected customers about this incident so they can take steps to help protect their information.”

As happens in these situations, ‘wichcraft is reminding people to check their credit reports, and that they can get a free report once a year from each of the three main credit bureaus via http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

“We encourage you to remain vigilant by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports,” writes ‘wichcraft. “If you believe your payment card may have been affected, we recommend that you immediately contact your bank or card issuer.”

‘wichcraft customers who wish to speak directly with someone at the company can call (866) 942-4272, ext. 6, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST.

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