This past week there was a major breach at Epsilon, an email marketing company, which resulted in several major corporations having subscribers’ names and email addresses compromised. Companies involved included JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Marriott Rewards, US Bank, Citi, Brookstone, Walgreens and the Home Shopping Network. Epsilon contacted its customers, alerting them to the breach and specifying that only subscribers’ names and email addresses were accessed.
I was alerted to this fact when Chase sent me an email at 2 AM last night. They explained what went down at Epsilon and what information was at risk. They assured me that my financial information and account details were still secure. Though the breech was not Chase’s fault, they still apologized for any inconvenience caused by this attack on Epsilon.
Chase also included a reminder that they’ll never request login or any other personal information via email. This is probably a heads up, as your name and email could be used in a phishing attack. The email also included a list of other best practices for Chase related emails. It closed with a reminder that the security of my information is a priority, with a link to their Security Center.
Chase did an excellent job in responding to this security breech at Epsilon. First, and most importantly, they apologized. Chase also alerted their customers to the problem at hand and explained how to deal with it. They answered as many questions as they could in one email and provided a link for more information. Chase did as much as possible to reassure their customers. Email marketers should take note, and act accordingly if your subscribers’ information is ever breeched.
