As many as 40 million people who used credit and debit cards at Target stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 may have had their private banking information stolen, the corporation revealed in a notice to consumers released on Dec. 19.
The theft, first reported by Krebsonsecurity.com and confirmed by Target’s CEO one day later, took place at brick-and-mortar Target stores across the United States and involved the data encoded in the magnetic strip that’s swiped through card-reading machines. Thieves of the data would be able to use it to create counterfeit cards. Online transactions at Target.com were apparently not affected.
Data that may have been stolen during the breach includes names, card numbers, expiration dates and three-digit security codes.
Target advises all customers who used major credit or debit cards or Target store cards during the period when security was breached to watch their statements for any suspicious transactions, and says it is working with a “leading third-party forensics firm” as well as major financial institutions and the Secret Service to investigate the matter fully.
The news comes at an inauspicious time for Target, whose executives recently reported great success in enticing consumers to sign up for its own store credit cards.
Uranus squared to Pluto brings so many delightful underminings of the Matrix.