uOver 10M Consumers’ Personal Info Stolen In Latest Health Insurer Data Breachr

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  (Quinn Dombrowski)

  For at least the fourth time this year, millions of consumers are being faced with some bad news: health insurer Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield has announced the discovery of a major data breach in their systems. Over 10 million subscribers to Excellus and their partner services now have their most personal information — including medical claims records and social security numbers — stolen.

  Excellus has its headquarters in Rochester, NY and serves consumers in central and upstate New York. Excellus estimates that any of the 10 – 10.5 million individuals who have received health care in their service area are at risk. A statement from the company’s president and CEO Christpher Booth confirms that “attackers may have gained unauthorized access to individuals’ information, which could include name, date of birth, Social Security number, mailing address, telephone number, member identification number, financial account information and claims information.”

  In other words: this breach is bad. You name it, and the hackers probably got it.

  The intrusion into the Excellus systems began nearly two years ago, with hackers apparently first getting in on December 23, 2013. Excellus discovered the hack about a month ago, on August 5.

  Excellus says the information was encrypted, but that does absolutely no good in this case as the hackers had administrative access to the company’s network. That means they would be perfectly able to decrypt it the same way an actual internal systems administrator could.

  The company is now performing the standard mea culpa trifecta: working with the FBI to investigate who did it; engaging an IT forensics and sybersecurity company to figure out what the heck actually happened; and signing all their customers up for two years of identity theft protection services.

  Unfortunately, Excellus customers are now just the latest members of a popular club. 2015 seems to be the year that insurers discover data breaches, with 80 million Anthem customers, 11 million Premera Blue Cross customers, and over 1 million CareFirst Blue Cross customers already having their data purloined this year. Add Excellus to the mix, and that’s potentially over 100 million Americans affected in about nine months.

  Excellus customers can visit the company’s dedicated breach-explainer site or call 1-877-589-3331 for more information.

  [via Wired]

  
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by Kate Cox via Consumerist

uGoogle Confirms That Android Pay Is Rolling Out This Weekr

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• Though McDonald’s and Subway have been able to accept Android Pay — Google’s answer to the iPhone’s Apple Pay digital payment platform — for weeks, the actual app has yet to become available for the millions of Android device owners who might want to try it. The company is now finally confirming that Android Pay is rolling out in the coming days.

  “We’ll be rolling out gradually over the next few days, and this is just the beginning,” a Google exec tells Bloomberg. “We will continue to add even more features, banks and store locations in the coming months, making it even easier to pay with your Android phone.”

  Google has long offered its Google Wallet payment service that allows users to make payments with certain vendors using stored payment card information. The company now says Wallet will pivot to focus more on allowing users to send and receive funds, while Android Pay will be used for the making of purchases.

  In addition to the two fast food giants mentioned above, a number of major retailers have already agreed to accept Android Pay, including Macy’s, Meijer, BJ’s, Petco, Foot Locker, Staples, Whole Foods, Walgreens, GameStop, Panera.

  As of right now, the Android Pay site still lists the service as “coming soon.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uMaker Of Oreos, Chips Ahoy! And Other Snacks Plans To Offer Significantly More Healthy Treats In Five Yearsr

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  The snack aisle at your local supermarket may look a lot healthier in five years. (Ben Schumin)

  Perhaps the introduction of the so-called healthier, more adult-focused Thin Oreos earlier this year was a sign that Mondelez, the maker behind the cookies and a plethora of other snacks, was on the fast track to being a health-conscious brand.

  The company vowed today to revamp its offering so that in five years 50% of its revenue comes from healthy snacks.

  Executive vice president and chief growth officer Mark Clouse says in the release that the company currently records just one-third of its sales from healthy snacks.

  “We intend to become the global leader in well-being snacks,” he says in a statement. “Our goal is to simplify and enhance the ingredient and nutritional profile of our base business while also focusing on breakthrough innovation to address consumers’ well-being needs.”

  To achieve the new health-focused goal, Clouse says the company will dedicate 70% of new product development efforts on “well-being platforms.”

  Those efforts will likely include more individually wrapped snacks that are 200 calories or less and products that have nutritional attributes, such as fewer ingredients and no artificial flavors, Reuters reports.

  “If you look at where consumers are going, we have to better position the portfolio to fully unlock the potential for growth,” Clouse said.

  In addition to turning toward more healthy fare, Mondelez reaffirmed on Thursday its commitment to increasing revenue of organic products by 3% this year.

  [via Reuters]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uSbarro To Open First Standalone Store In Neither Mall Nor Airportr

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  (J.G. Park)

  Imagine picking up the phone and calling your local chain pizzeria for delivery. No, not Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, or Dominos: you call up Sbarro, even if you don’t live inside a food court. Sbarro? Out in the real world? Next month, the eatery opens its first-ever standalone restaurant in the town where its headquarters is: Columbus, Ohio.

  Sbarro would really like to be known as something other than the place where you eat at the mall when you don’t like burgers, then immediately wonder exactly how you just spent $7 on a single slice of pizza and a soft drink. Customers have complained to our sibling publication Consumer Reports that the chain’s food doesn’t seem fresh and is a poor value for the money.

  Sbarro has also filed for bankruptcy protection twice in the last four years, and would rather people didn’t see them as the restaurant where people go when they have no other choice. The first standalone restaurant will have about twenty seats, but intends to mostly serve carryout and delivery customers.

  What about those mall stores? The chain is only in about 1/3 of malls nationwide, so it could theoretically expand into even more.

  One thing won’t change: it will always be the best place to get a real New York Slice.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRgEeDR98X8

  Sbarro’s New Chapter [QSR Magazine]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uAntitrust Concerns For Staples, Office Depot Merger Now Center On Corporate Supply Contractsr

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  (Mike Mozart)
  (frankieleon)

  In an effort to gain approval for their $6.3 billion proposed marriage to Staples, Office Depot announced last month it would close about 400 stores. While that move could certainly help the merger process, it appears that federal regulators are less worried about retail sales at physical stores, and more concerned about their contracts to provide supplies to large corporations and businesses.

  The Boston Globe reports that the two companies could face more costly concessions than just closing a few hundred stores when it comes to gaining antitrust approval from the Federal Trade Commission to walk down the aisle.

  Instead, the FTC is reportedly looking more closely at how a combined mega-office supply store could restrict competition when it comes to commercial customers restocking paper, pens and other necessities for the workplace.

  Staples and Office Depot are currently the top two office suppliers in the U.S. contract business, with the next closest company being W.B. Mason which serves only select regions of the U.S.

  Analysts believe that in order for the Staples/Office Depot merger to gain approval, the larger of the two chains – Staples – would have to divest a significant portion of its contract division, including distribution centers and certain client contracts.

  “To cure the anticompetitive threats, you’d have to divest operations to create a national competitor,” Randy Stutz, associate general counsel at the American Antitrust Institute in Washington, tells the Globe. “You’re talking about giving up extremely valuable assets and huge numbers that almost make the deal not worthwhile at that point.”

  While Staples declined to comment on the possible antitrust issues to the Globe, CEO Ron Sargent said in an investor conference Wednesday that the merger was “on track.”

  In a quick address to contract business, Sargent told investors that nearly half of Staples deals with large companies involve products that are outside the realm of traditional office supplies.

  “So, if you start to look at the market as beyond office supplies, which is what we do, obviously the market gets a lot bigger and our share gets a lot smaller,” he said.

  Office Depot declined to provide comment to the Globe about potential contract antitrust issues.

  Citing people close to the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the FTC has stepped up its scrutiny of the deal by seeking sworn legal declarations that could be used if antitrust enforcers decide to challenge the deal.

  The Commission currently has until mid-October to decide whether to approve or challenge the office supply merger. However, that deadline could be extended.

  Staples and Office Depot first announced their plans to walk down the aisle back in February, after receiving significant pressure from shared investor Starboard Value in December.

  The two companies – which have faced significant competition for office supply sales from online companies like Amazon – previously tried to tie the knot 17 years ago, but those efforts were thwarted by the federal regulators.

  Staples’ merger with Office Depot faces antitrust questions [The Boston Globe]
  FTC Intensifies Antitrust Review of Staples-Office Depot Merger [The Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uPolice: Man Pretended To Be An Uber Driver, Tried To Hug Fleeing Passengerr

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  (eblaser)

  Reminder: If you didn’t call that cab or order that Uber ride, it’s not always safe to just hop in the car and hope to get to your destination. Police in Texas have identified a suspect in connection to an odd incident early last Sunday morning, where two female college students reported that a man pretending to be an Uber driver offered them a ride, saying his fare didn’t show up.

  Campus police at Texas Christian University said the man approached the women just before 2 a.m. on Sunday with the lure of a free trip, reports CBS News. When they accepted, he allegedly made indecent comments as they rode in his dark, four-door sedan. They demanded he pulled over, at which point one of the women says he tried to hug her as they escaped the car.

  A few days into the hunt for the suspect, police were able to use license plate information to narrow down their search.

  “They do have a suspect, but there’s nothing more to release at this point,” the university’s interim director of communications told CBS. It’s unclear if police have arrested the suspect yet.

  The university is urging students to only use cabs that they’ve specifically called. Uber echoed that in a statement, saying passengers should only use drivers hailed directly through the ride service’s app, citing the safety of both passengers and drivers: the app shows riders the driver’s name and other identifying information including a license plate number, as well as their trip details. Those details can be shared with friends and family if passengers want someone to follow their trip and make sure they’ve arrived safely.

  “Uber driver partners are prohibited from accepting street hails. All trips must be requested through the app,” the company said.

  Texas police have suspect in fake Uber driver case [CBS News]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uWhat’s It Like To Be An NFL Owner? Ask The Green Bay Packers Shareholdersr