Target Data Breach Affects 40 Million Customers

Around 40 million credit and debit card numbers, along with customer names, card expiration dates and vital security codes, have been affected by a data breach at retail giant Target. The breach affects customers who used their cards at any of the chain’s nationwide stores between November 27 and December 15 – the peak holiday shopping season.

Store cards and major credit and debit cards are all affected, Target Corp said.

The store has yet to identify the source of the glitch.

Although the store has yet to identify the source of the “glitch,” it has alerted financial instructions and the authorities, while urging customers to be “vigilant” in checking their statements. Those who notice suspicious activity can call the company at 866-852-8680 to report the transactions.

The problem has now been fixed, a spokesman said, and customers should be able to use all their cards as normal in Target stores. Whether shoppers will be quite as keen to do so with the risk of identity theft hanging over their heads remains to be seen. The news comes at a bad time for the company, with Christmas less than one week away and the November / December period accounting for around 20% of overall retail industry sales, according to some reports.

In a statement on its website, Target acknowledged that “unauthorized access” had been granted to 40 million customers’ information and announced that a third-party forensics firm had been brought in to investigate the data breach. However, for holiday shoppers and concerned consumers, a lot of questions remain unanswered. Asked if they knew exactly when customers would know if their account had been affected, a Target spokesman was unable to give a date.