Joshua Salazar Target Fiasco Jan. 10, 2014
It has been over a month since the Black Friday identity theft crisis, and Target Corp. is still incurring the weight of the situation, as the estimated individuals effected has increased from 40 to 70 million. People who shopped at Target stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 are at risk of being part of the millions of customers who had their name, credit card and debit card information stolen. The “Data Breach,” as Target Corp. refers to the incident, has been under thorough investigation. Sarai Orozco, freshman early childhood studies major, was one of the many effected by the Target data breach. “I felt scared because nothing like this has ever happened to me,” Orozco said. One week following the incident, Orozco’s bank card was canceled and sent to the wrong address, only adding to the feelings of anxiety that the Target data breach created.
According to the Target website, Target’s forensic investigation has uncovered more information regarding the data breach. The following statement was released Jan. 10 on the Corporate.target.com website: “At this time, the investigation has determined that the stolen information includes names, mailing addresses, phone numbers or email addresses for up to 70 million individuals." Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Target Corp., extended apologies to the customers and associates affected by the identity theft. Target wants their customers to have zero liability from any fraudulent charges that are brought on due to the data breach. Target is even offering a one-year identity theft monitoring service for those effected. More details can be found on Target’s website. Despite Target’s best efforts to help those affected by the data breach, many still have negative feelings regarding the crisis. Marie Copak, freshman exercise science major, explains her feelings towards the incident. “It’s ridiculous to have money being leaked, especially from Target," Copak
said. “It’s the store everyone goes to.” Copak was not effected by the data breach, but feels that a company of this stature should not have experienced such circumstances. Only time will reveal any further effects from the Target data breach, but at this time customers who shopped at Target over the holidays are advised to closely watch their bank and credit card usage and report any suspicious activity. -30-