Reports: 40 Million Customers Affected by Target Data Breach

By James Boyle

As many as 40 million accounts may have been breached when Target customers used their debit or credit cards at cash registers between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, according to a press release from the department store giant.

"We are partnering with a leading third-party forensics firm to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident and to examine additional measures we can take that would be designed to help prevent incidents of this kind in the future," a statement from Target reads. "Additionally, Target alerted authorities and financial institutions immediately after we discovered and confirmed the unauthorized access, and we are putting our full resources behind these efforts."

According to the statement, the breached data includes the customer name, credit or debit card number, and the card’s expiration date and CVV (the three-digit security code). The information was accessed at point-of-sale terminals only; online transactions were not affected.

Target has stores at 1600 N. Cedar Crest Blvd. in South Whitehall; 912 Airport Center Drive in Hanover Township, Lehigh County; and 3835 Dryland Way in Lower Nazareth.

The method used to access the personal information is still under investigation.

Experts told the New York Times that it is likely that aggressive malware software infected terminals in the approximately 2,000 brick-and-mortar stores across North America that transmitted data to the potential thieves.

If customers suspect they are victims of identity theft, Target officials suggest reporting it immediately to the financial institution and contacting the Federal Trade Commission or local law enforcement agencies.

Customers also can get one free credit report every 12 months from one of three national reporting agencies.  A free copy is available at www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228.