Consumer Catch-up: Cathay Pacific data breach, Ford Focus recall, UPS holiday shipping, Hershey price hike

Thursday, October 25, 2018
A plane is seen in the sky.
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Cathay Pacific data breach impacts millions

Cathay Pacific Airways announced a data breach impacting 9.4 million passengers.

The airline says personal information accessed includes names, birth dates, contact information, passport numbers and ID card numbers.

Cathay says it has no indication any of this data was misused.

The airline first learned about suspicious activity on its network in March. In early May, officials discovered that personal data was accessed, and have been working to identify affected customers.

No word why the airline is only now making these findings public.

Cathay says it is contacting impacted customers.

Ford recalls 1.3 million Focus cars

Ford is recalling almost 1.3 million Focus cars because the engines can stall out while in motion.

The recall impacts 2012 - 2018 model years.

Consumer Reports says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) points the finger at problems with faulty software.

The software may not respond properly to a malfunctioning valve stick, which could deform the fuel tank and then cause stalling.

Ford suggests drivers keep their gas tanks at least half full until repairs can be made.

UPS prepping for holiday shipping

UPS is gearing up for a big holiday shopping, and shipping, season.

The company is adding more airplanes and automation to their standard processes. This is to help avoid bottlenecks that slowed down deliveries in the past.

UPS says these changes will allow the sorting of 350,000 more packages per hour than last year.

Hershey raising chocolate prices

The rumors are true - Hershey's says it will raise chocolate prices in 2019.

The company plans to hike prices on 20 percent of its products, although it hasn't said which products will be impacted.

Hershey's says the cost for consumers will be about two and a half percent more.

The chocolate maker hopes higher prices will help offset rising commodity and shipping costs, without scaring off customers.

Click here for a look at more stories by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

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