More Trouble for Major Retailer: Target Gift Card May Not Work

By Susan Petroni

Target, the nation's second-largest discount retailer, said Tuesday an unidentified number of gift cards sold over the holidays were not properly activated, reported USA Today.

The chain said the number of cards affected was less than 0.1% of the total sold, reported the Associated Press.

Customers can bring faulty cards to any Target service desk or call 800-544-2943 for help.

"We are aware that some Target gift cards were not fully activated and apologize for the inconvenience," company spokeswoman Molly Snyder said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.

The gift card snafu comes less than two weeks after Target announced it was hit with a massive data security breach that affected about 40 million debit and credit card holders who shopped at its stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15.