Only a handful of days left before Christmas. Shopping gets real serious now. Yesterday, Target confirmed the theft of 40 millions debit and credit card numbers from its sytem over the past few weeks, adding to the holiday worries of many shoppers. Target is investigating this massive crime along with law enforcement and the Secret Service. It’s one of the largest data breaches in history.
Today, some downplayed the impact of the fraud on consumers, among, them, Gregg W. Steinhafel, CEO of Target. “We want our guests to understand that just because they shopped at Target during the impacted time frame, it doesn’t mean they are victims of fraud. In fact, in other similar situations, there are typically low levels of actual fraud. Most importantly, we want to reassure guests that they will not be held financially responsible for any credit and debit card fraud. And to provide guests with extra assurance, we will be offering free credit monitoring services. We will be in touch with those impacted by this issue soon on how and where to access the service.”
In his message posted on the company website, Steinhafel, also made a special offer to folks willing to shop at Target this weekend: “We take this crime seriously. It was a crime against Target, our team members, and most importantly, our guests. We’re in this together, and in that spirit, we are extending a 10% discount – the same amount our team members receive – to guests who shop in U.S. stores on Dec. 21 and 22. Again, we recognize this issue has been confusing and disruptive during an already busy holiday season. We want to emphasize that the issue has been addressed and let guests know they can shop with confidence at their local Target stores.”
It will be interesting to see if big crowds of shoppers turnout at the Target in Burbank and other Targets across the country tomorrow and Sunday.
