Secret Service Looking into Target Data Breach
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Target(WASHINGTON) — The Secret Service is working with Target in an intensive hunt to find the cyber thieves responsible for stealing personal and financial information from 40 million customers.
Sources tell ABC News the investigation is focused on a financial center where Target takes in the credit and debit transactions of millions of customers.
The Secret Service and a private forensic team hired by the company are trying to determine how the theft took place — including whether the processing center was hacked from the outside, possibly from overseas. They will also look at the possibility that the scam was an inside job.
On Thursday, Target posted a notice to customers acknowledging that data connected to about 40 million credit and debit card accounts was stolen as part of a breach that began over Thanksgiving weekend.
“The unauthorized access may impact guests who made credit or debit card purchases in our U.S. stores from Nov. 27 to Dec. 15, 2013,” the retailer said.
“We have determined that the information involved in this incident included customer name, credit or debit card number, and the card’s expiration date and CVV,” it added.
Target apologized to shoppers in its notice and urged them to “remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft by regularly reviewing your account statements and monitoring free credit reports.”
“If you discover any suspicious or unusual activity on your accounts or suspect fraud, be sure to report it immediately to your financial institutions,” the company advised.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio