The Oregon Zoo reported Friday that the credit card information of more than 100,000 visitors was compromised in a cybersecurity breach of the zoo’s online ticketing service.
In a letter to zoo visitors submitted to the Oregon Department of Justice, officials said whoever hacked into the online ticketing website may have obtained card information, including card numbers, CVVs and expiration dates, from customers who purchased zoo tickets online between December 20, 2023, and June 26, 2024.
A total of 117,815 people were affected by the data breach, according to zoo spokeswoman Hova Najarian. Roy Kaufmann, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Justice, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that 77,234 of those cases were Oregon residents.
The zoo explained in its letter to visitors that the data theft occurred at the third-party provider that handles online ticket sales. The name of the third-party provider was not disclosed.
The zoo first noticed the suspicious activity in late June and promptly shut down its ticketing website. It’s unclear how the breach was discovered. Authorities conducted a months-long investigation to determine how many people were affected, and the zoo is now working to notify those individuals, Najarian said.
According to the letter, the zoo has since replaced its compromised ticketing system. Zoo authorities urged those affected to check their bank statements and monitor their credit activity. The zoo is offering free credit monitoring and identity theft protection through Cyberscout for 12 months.
Anyone concerned about the breach can request a credit fraud alert or have their credit file frozen at one of the major credit reporting agencies, including Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, officials said.
— Austin De Dios covers politics, programs and more in Multnomah County. Reach him at 503-319-9744, [email protected] or @AustinDeDios.
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