Another week, another major store chain compromised by hackers. In what seems to be becoming a disturbing trend in the retail world, luxury department store Neiman Marcus recently revealed that it may have compromised buyer credit and debit card information to hackers.

According to a report from NBC News, Neiman Marcus confirmed a “criminal cyber-security intrusion” at its payment terminals on January 1, two weeks after it had been warned by a credit card processor of the possibility that hackers were getting their hands on sensitive customer information. The department store chain did not reveal how many customers had been effected by the breach, nor did the company elaborate on precisely how the attack had occurred. In other words, customers who have shopped at Neiman Marcus any time in the past two or three months might want to check their accounts to make sure no suspicious activity has been taking place.

Neiman Marcus also declined to reveal whether or not the hack was a national issue. However, a store spokesperson did say that the company had been taking steps to correct the issue and establish superior security for customer payment information. The United States Secret Service has also been involved in the case and is working to help Neiman Marcus identify customers whose information may have been compromised. The store hopes to notify as many customers as possible about whether their card information was fraudulently obtained by cyber criminals.

This case marks the second high-profile retail hack of recent months. Shortly before Christmas, Target revealed that it’s own payment terminals had been compromised by hackers, and that as many as 40 million people may have had their payment information logged and stolen by criminals as a result. Just as Neiman Marcus announced its own security breach, Target went on record to change its estimate of affected customers from 40 million to 70 million. The number of identity theft cases in the Target case continues to swell, and the hack could end up costing banks and credit card companies billions of dollars worldwide.

The question is, why are these security breaches being allowed to happen? How are hackers getting control of retail payment terminals so easily, and why is it taking stores so long to realize that they have been compromised? With two high-profile department stores grabbing headlines for hacks in as many months, it’s clear that this problem represents a new trend for hackers. No retail store is safe, and competitors of Target and Neiman Marcus should take these two cautionary tales as ample reason to revamp their payment security systems. If stores can’t offer a safe payment environment, customers may need to revert to using cash for all transactions.