Latest Charlotte data breach ensnares about 73,000 Preferred Parking customers
Preferred Parking Service, a Charlotte-based company that manages parking lots and garages across the Southeast, is addressing a data breach involving thousands of customers’ credit and debit card information.
Read more Is ‘Real Housewives’ coming to Charlotte? Here’s what we know
A total of 72,912 people were impacted, including 61,335 North Carolina residents, N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s office confirmed Monday.
Preferred Parking notified at least three states on Aug. 14 about the incident. South Carolina had 5,176 people affected; Massachusetts, 142; and Vermont, 11.
Preferred Parking takes the security and privacy of customer information seriously, Roger Stacks, company owner and president, said in statement to The Charlotte Observer Tuesday, after this story initially posted online.
“After learning of the incident, we worked with outside experts to help us investigate, notified those whose information may have been involved and took additional measures to fortify our IT network,” he said.
Preferred Parking is the latest victim in a string of Charlotte-area companies dealing with cybersecurity issues. Other local corporations reporting data breaches in the past 15 months include Bojangles, Krispy Kreme, Belk, Food Lion and Atrium Health.
Read more 400 new jobs land north of Charlotte for $120M manufacturing hub investment
Founded in 1961, Preferred Parking has more than 240 locations with over 40,000 daily customers across the Southeast, according to the company website. Preferred Parking has more than 65 locations and 17,000 parking spaces in the greater Charlotte area.
The company is headquartered in uptown and manages multiple parking facilities in Charlotte in uptown, South End and NoDa.
An investigation ending July 30 by Preferred Parking found that an “unauthorized actor” had gained access to its database on June 7-8, according to a letter from the company to people affected by the data breach.
Preferred Parking is advising potentially affected customers to monitor their financial statements for unauthorized charges and immediately dispute any suspicious activity with their banks. The company also said it has “implemented additional measures to enhance the security of our IT network,” but did not elaborate on them.
The letter also lists additional information for residents in several states: Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia.
Read more ‘Bent the knee,’ Flock cameras: What Charlotte talked about Aug. 17-23
The Charlotte Ledger newsletter earlier reported about the data breach.
This story was originally published August 25, 2026 at 5:08 AM.
