Target announced earlier today that around 40 million debit and credit card accounts may have been hacked in a recent widescale data breach.
The famous shopping chain said Thursday that the customers' accounts may have been affected somewhere between November 27 and December 15.
The Minneapolis-based company explained that it informed officials and financial establishments immediately after it detected the security breach and that it is collaborating with a third-party forensics team to look into the matter.
The Target security breach had prompted the company to warn its customers to take note of their statements and study them carefully. Customers who are suspicious of unauthorized activity on their accounts should immediately inform the credit or debit card companies. They may also call Target at 866-852-8680 and inform officials on the matter so they can look into it right away.
Instances of identity theft should also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission or the police.
Target did not specify how the security data breach could hav happened but explained that it had fixed the flaw in the system and that credit card account holders can continue shopping at their stores with ease.
Target has a current total of 1,797 U.S. branches and 124 in Canada.
"That's not good," Robert Cooper, a Target customer, shared Wednesday. "I can't afford for them to steal my money, I got a baby to feed."
Cooper and patner Kristina Uspenskai went to a Target branch to purchase Christmas presents for daughter Brianna. The couple exited the store with newfound fear of the truth behind their credit card usage.
"It's not something you think about, should I use my credit card, should I not, it's something you do automatically," Uspenskai shared when asked about the matter.
The Secret Service had recently assured the public that it is looking into the case of the country's second biggest discount retailer.
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