Zappos: Hacker accessed customer info

Online shoe seller Zappos.com says a hacker may have accessed the personal information of up to 24 million customers.

Credit card and payment information was not stolen, but customers' names, phone numbers, email addresses, billing and shipping addresses, the last four digits from credit cards and more may have been accessed in the attack, according to an email that chief executive Tony Hsieh sent on Sunday to employees.

Zappos said it was recommending that customers change their passwords, including those used to log onto any other website where they use the same or similar password.

Zappos said the hacker gained access to its internal network and systems through one of the company's servers in Kentucky. Zappos is based in Las Vegas. It is owned by Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc.

"We've spent over 12 years building our reputation, brand, and trust with our customers," Hsieh said in his email. "It's painful to see us take so many steps back due to a single incident."

The company said because of the high volume of customer calls it is expecting it will temporarily switch off its phones and direct customers to contact via email.

-- Combined wire services