Target Data Breach Hits 70 Million Customers

The Minneapolis-based Target Corp. announced in a Jan. 10 press release that the recent “data breach” of customers’ credit and debit cards “includes names, mailing addresses, phone numbers or email addresses for up to 70 million individuals,” making it the largest such breach in U.S. history.

The original estimate of customers affected by the credit/debit theft that occurred in the weeks after Thanksgiving was 40 million. The most recent announcement by Target is the first mention of customers’ personal information also being stolen.

Target said affected customers will have zero liability for the cost of any fraudulent charges arising from the breach. The company is offering one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to all U.S. customers (the company also has 124 stores in Canada). Customers will have three months to enroll in the program. For details, visit target.com/databreach.

Target has 1,797 stores in the U.S., including one in Sturgeon Bay.