May 25, 2021

After a public outcry on social media, Walmart announced on Monday that it had blocked emails containing racist slurs from its domain.

The company noted that a “bad actor” created the fake Walmart accounts using people’s real email addresses while circumventing its automated response by changing first names.

While Walmart revealed that the ‘bad actor’ behind the act was acting with apparent intent to offend the company’s customers, the company found that its systems were not hacked and no customer data was compromised.

Although the company said it did not know the number of fake accounts created, a Walmart spokeswoman said that Walmart was exploring all available means to hold those responsible accountable.

For more information, read the original story in Reuters.