Target Quiet on Financial Hit From In-Store Credit Card Breach

Target’s credit card phone line and website were overwhelmed Thursday as customers tried to access account information following the retailer’s confirmation that its payment system had been breached, compromising 40 million credit and debit accounts spanning a significant chunk of the holiday shopping season. Accounts affected by the breach included Target REDcards and cards issued by other banks that were used in U.S. Target stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, a Target spokeswoman told us. The issue is exclusive to U.S. stores and has been resolved, she said.

On the projected financial impact of the breach, the spokeswoman said that “right now our focus and dedication is reaching out to our guests and informing them of steps they need to take, and as we move forward we'll address those questions.” After Target confirmed credit and debit cards used in stores during the past few weeks have been compromised, the FTC Thursday urged consumers who recently used a credit or debit card in a Target store to check their accounts. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., meanwhile sought a fix for the security flaw.

Target customers who shopped in stores and paid with credit cards during the 19-day period, the spokeswoman said, are encouraged “to look directly at their own transactions and if they see something that is suspicious or fraudulent they should reach out.” We attempted to contact Target Thursday morning soon after the news of the security issue broke but were unable to get through to check our account. The phone number on the back of the Target REDcard went to a busy signal, and a different, dedicated phone number that Target gave in its news release for consumers to call to see if they had been affected referred callers to the https//r.cam.target.com link. That webpage was highly congested, taking a long time to navigate and in our case eventually timing out during several attempts. Customers who didn’t know their user name or password were particularly vulnerable to long waits and in our case, unable to check our account for fraudulent charges.

The spokeswoman acknowledged the crush of customers attempting to contact Target both by phone and online. “At this point we are having a high volume and we're working to directly communicate with guests as quickly as possible,” she said. Customers should work with their issuing banks directly, she said. Compromised data included cardholders’ name, CVV (card verification value) account number and expiration date, she said.

Target is aware of unauthorized access to payment card data and is working with “a leading third-party forensics firm to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident,” said the company in a written statement. The retailer is “working closely with law enforcement and financial institutions, and has identified and resolved the issue,” it said.

The FTC urged Target customers to continue to monitor their accounts and check that the information on their credit reports is accurate. The law requires the three nationwide consumer reporting companies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- to give consumers a free copy of their credit report every 12 months if requested, it said in a news release Thursday (http://1.usa.gov/1i4PGkT). Consumers can visit AnnualCreditReport.com to request a report or call 1-877-322-8228.

"Target shoppers should not have targets on their backs for data thieves,” said Markey in a news release. “We need to quickly uncover the extent of the harm suffered by Target customers from this massive data breach and fix the security weaknesses exploited by these fraudsters prowling for customers’ sensitive information. I am concerned about the risk of identity theft and other fraud that could be caused by the release of this information. Target should explain what the company is doing to fix the problems and assist consumers whose data was exposed."

Since word of the breach began circulating Wednesday, Target has been aggressively trying to lure customers to shop through free shipping offers and widespread temporary price cuts. An email blast sent out just before the news release announcing the data breach promised free shipping in time for Christmas on “thousands of products” along with the temporary price cuts. Target also tapped back into Black Friday mode, offering free gift cards with purchases, including iPads. A temporary price cut on a Canon EOS digital SLR bundle -- with EOS Rebel T3 12.2-megapixel camera, two lenses and a memory card -- dropped the package price to $449.99 from $714.99, according to the website.