Evanston’s Barnes & Noble is among dozens of stores across the country that the bookseller says have had their PIN pads hacked.

“We have detected a sophisticated criminal effort to steal credit and debit card information from our customers who have swiped their cards through PIN pads when they made purchases at certain retail stores,” the New York-based company said in a customer notice posted on its corporate website Tuesday. “The tampered devices were capable of capturing information such as name, card account number, and PIN.”

The security breach affects 63 stores in nine states, including two in Chicago and the downtown Evanston location at 1630 Sherman Ave.

After learning about the apparent tampering, company officials disconnected all PIN pads in Barnes & Noble and contacted federal law enforcement authorities. The FBI is now investigating.

PIN pads at Barnes & Noble’s college locations, including its operation in Norris University Center, were not tampered with, according to a news release. Online purchases were not targeted.

The company is advising worried customers to check their debit and credit card records for any unauthorized transactions.

A Barnes & Noble spokeswoman declined to comment on how much suspicious activity has been reported since Tuesday’s announcement, citing the ongoing FBI investigation.

— Patrick Svitek