The Wawa convenience store chain is facing a wave of lawsuits over a data breach that affected its 850 locations along the East Coast.

According to Pennsylvania-based Wawa Inc., it discovered malware on its payment processing servers this month before stopping the breach back on Dec. 12.

Wawa officials believe the malware had been collecting card numbers, customer names and other data since as early as March.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday at least six lawsuits seeking class-action status have been filed in federal court in Philadelphia.

A Wawa spokesman declined to comment on the pending litigation.

AP wire services helped contribute to this report.