Patrons' credit card info stolen from Sonic restaurants

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - If you've used your credit card at Sonic drive-in recently, check your bank statement. The fast-food chain's payment system has been breached. Now 5 million debit and credit cards are at risk.

Mashable tech editor Pete Pachal says the breach is pretty bad.

"If you've shopped at Sonic in the last, say, six months to a year, there is a very good chance that your credit card information was hacked and taken," Pachal says. "No one was going store to store and installing the software into individual readers. This was sort of pushed out to all the readers in some kind of software."

The stolen accounts have also been put up for sale on a credit card theft website. It is possible other businesses have also been breached.

Pachal suggests putting a freeze on your credit and be wary of charges on your card. He says if you are really worried, you could cancel your card and get a replacement. He also suggests that you should use cash at Sonic, for now.

To prevent becoming a victim of fraud, just use cash. But let's face it: that is not that convenient. Instead, opt for a credit or debit card with a chip, which is safer.

Sonic has nearly 3,600 locations across 45 states.