TOKYO (TR) – TMG International Co., Ltd., the operator of the popular meat distribution web site The Meat Guy, apologized this week over the potential leak of customer data.
“We would like to offer our deepest apologies to our customers and all other parties involved for the inconvenience and concern this has caused,” said a statement posted on its web site on Monday.
In December, the company announced the unauthorized access of its site by a third party. The results of a subsequent investigation revealed that more than 100,000 pieces of customer information in its database may have been leaked.
Among this information was the credit card information of 6,929 customers who made purchases between August 20, 2024 and December 2, 2024.
The statement said that the cause was a vulnerability in the web site. This vulnerability was exploited by the third party through the embedding of malicious code that manipulates data.
The statement said that the company has been working with credit card companies to continue to monitor transactions using credit cards that may have been compromised and to prevent fraudulent use.
“We kindly ask that you double-check your credit card statement to ensure there are no charges you do not recognize,” the statement said.
American-bred beef to foreigners living in Japan
Founded by a couple in 1997, The Meat Guy initially focused on selling American-bred beef to foreigners living in Japan. It later expanded its customer base to include many Japanese customers.
The site specializes in selling a variety of meats, including grass-fed beef and sausages. Around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, it promotes specials on hams and turkeys.
“We take this incident very seriously, and based on the results of our investigation, we will strengthen our system security measures and monitoring systems to prevent any recurrence,” the statement said.
The site is presently not in operation. The reopening date will be announced on the web site as soon as it is decided, the statement said.
