Toms Email List Hacked by ‘Nice Man’; CEO Apologizes to Customers

Ella Chochrek

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Members of the Toms distribution list received an email from an unauthorized third party — a self-described “nice man” — on Sunday, Oct. 6.

“Hey you, don’t look at a digital screen all day, there’s a world out there that you’re missing out on,” read the email, which had the subject line “hacked by a nice man.”

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“Just felt like some people needed that ^^(:” the hacker told recipients.

In an email sent the night of Monday, Oct. 7, Toms CEO Jim Alling confirmed that the message had been sent by an unauthorized party, adding that “there was no evidence” that credit card data was accessible or that the hacker had downloaded the distribution list.

“Immediate steps were taken to deactivate this account as we continued to investigate what occurred,” wrote Alling.

“We are working diligently with our technology providers around the world as we continue to evaluate the incident. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience you experienced in receiving the unauthorized email or related social media activity,” the message continued.

Toms has set up additional customer service support to answer questions related to the incident.

While credit card information does not appear to have been compromised in this case, other companies have faced security breaches leaving customer financial information vulnerable. In 2018, several brands and retailers informed consumers that data had been compromised, including Macy’s, Under Armour and Adidas.

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