Manhattan Prep Security Breach - Protect your CC

Question

I got a letter from Manhattan Prep this evening. It says that Manhattan Prep systems and databases were compromised on March 25, 2012. Apparently, the hacker stole  name , mailing address, email address,  birth date , username, password, phone number, and  credit card details .

MPrep alerted the credit card company. MPrep is also working with law enforcement and security expert on this. The company is taking other steps to avoid such incident in future.

If you have a MPrep account that has your CC info stored, you should:
1) change the password in MPrep website
2) Review your credit card statements
3) contact your credit card company
4) contact credit bureaus

I ordered a replacement for my CC. I will contact the credit bureaus tomorrow.

I understand what MPrep might be going through now. I sympathize with them. But the question is, are all the companies that I do business with safe? What about gmatclub?

GMATLA · Answer

Wow, this seems to be more and more of a common occurence. This has happened to me a few times! I had to contact the credit bureau, and even had my bank send me a new credit card one time. It was a big mess.

I definitely don't think that every company out there is safe, but obviously some are safer than others. Thinking about GMAT Club specifically I would think it is one of the safest since all transactions are completed through Paypal (I believe). Paypal makes it's $$$ on being safe, and if there was a comprimise, they would be out of business. I would have to think that they are one of the safest companies to do business through, making GMAT Club extremely safe... What are your thoughts?

udvranto · Answer

I think gmatclub should:
1) Have the security measures reviewed by an expert.
2) Keep a very good backup system in case of an emergency.
3) Make sure everything is secured at least once a year.

gauravmarwaha · Answer

Same here guys...card blocked, be careful!!

Best Regards,
Gaurav

GreginChicago · Answer

Removed:  If I recall correctly, this is unfortunately not the first time this happens to MGMAT.... 
Correction: MGMAT confirmed that it was the first time it happened and that this was the same occurrence as
identified on BeattheGMAT a couple of weeks ago. My sincere apologies to MGMAT.

I know it is not necessarily their fault and that hackers don't discriminate but they need and would only add that to bring their transaction security to the level needed when you are one of the main player in this market.
Completely agree with udvranto and will only add that I would be favorable with GMATClub explaining in details what is their current process to secure transactions.

Karite · Answer

Incidents such as this is the reason I avoid putting my personal information on websites. I have a Manhattan account but it only contained my email address. I did not receive an email from them so I guess my information wasn't compromised. That's why I do not like when companies want you to store your debit card number, credit card number, or any other personal information just to setup an account. Identity theft is on the rise because the responsibility is placed on the "victim" to repair their stolen information. Companies like Manhattan really need to get better security features because a lot of their clients are probably successful people or are going to be successful.

I was a victim of identity theft and if your account has been compromised you should contact the credit agencies to put a fraud alert or you can even freeze your entire credit. Check out this website. You get to receive one credit report from each agency for free annually.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

TomATManhattanGMAT · Answer

Hi All -

I work at Manhattan GMAT and I just wanted to jump in and clarify something that GreginChicago said, quoted below.

This actually is the first time this has happened to us. The incident linked to on the BeattheGMAT forums is the same one mentioned here.

The security of our customer's data is, and has been, a huge priority for us. If you have any questions about this incident, I'd highly encourage you to call us (800-576-4628) and we'll do what we can for you. Also, feel free to email me personally (twilliamsATmanhattanprepDOTcom).

- Tom Williams
Manhattan GMAT

GreginChicago · Answer

Tom,
I edited / clarified the posts in question.
My sincere apologies.
Greg

cheerose · Answer

I just signed up with MGMAT last night...

While I'll check my statement just in case; I would assume that everything is "fixed" there.

TomATManhattanGMAT · Answer

Thank you for the correction, Greg. We appreciate that.

Cheerose - The breach happened on March 25th. If you registered for an account on our site last night then you have nothing to worry about.

dzodzo85 · Answer

Thank you very much for the heads up. We have to be careful especially with our cc information online.

igemonster · Answer

hey Tom
was wondering, why does the credit card number is stored in mgmat systems BUT not displayed on My Profile anywhere ? correct me if I'm wrong.
if this is for you to be able to suggest the credit card when I come back to purchase something else?.. but then I'd love to see what credit cards I have registered with you?..
thanks a lot

igemonster · Answer

I'm asking because I also got the email a couple of weeks ago, and today my bank alerted me of a suspicious transaction which turned out illegitimate and I destroyed my card. What I did want to do is see if that really was the card I used on mgmat - and I cannot find it in my profile. Hence my question ^^

shovitdhar · Answer

What I don't understand is that why does MGMAT store a customer's credit card details. 
As far as I know, on most of the websites the transaction is handled by a payment gateway which doesn't send back any credit card info back to the website. The transaction is executed by the payment gateway and after everything is done, the control is transferred to the website again ?
Even if they store a customer's credit card details so that the customer doesn't have to enter the details again if in case he would want to purchase more products in future, it is simply not right to store their data. It'd be better if the customer enters his credit card info himself everytime he's making a purchase.

TomATManhattanGMAT · Answer

We no longer store credit card numbers in our system, which is why you cannot see any credit card information in your profile. If you'd like to find out what card was used, please give us a call at 212.721.7400 and we'll help you out. We had previously stored credit card information in order to make repeat payments/orders more efficient.

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Manhattan Prep Security Breach - Protect your CC

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