Target: Hacked Customers Not Liable for Fraud

Target (NYSE:TGT) now says customers affected by the criminal hack into an estimated 40 million customer card accounts will not be liable for any credit or debit card fraud. It also says that there is no indication the personal identification numbers used to withdraw cash at ATM machines were impacted by the fraud, nor were the four-digit security numbers on credit cards.

It also says there's no indication personal identification numbers used to withdraw cash were impacted by the fraud, nor were the four-digit security numbers on credit cards.

It says it has begun notifying, via email, customers whose emails it has and who have shopped in its U.S. stores about the hack. Customers are also being reached via phone.

Molly Snyder, a spokeswoman for Target, said in an emailed statement that: “It is very important for our guests to understand that receiving an email from us or a letter from their financial institution is absolutely not an indication that there has been, or will be, fraud on their card.”

Snyder also said that in the last 24 hours Target has “quadrupled the capacity of our online REDcard account management site” to handle the influx of calls.

Snyder added that as of late Friday, Target is “hearing very few reports of actual fraud,” but that the retail giant is still “closely monitoring the situation,” adding: “We want to reassure guests that they will not be held financially responsible for any credit card or debit card fraud.”

Snyder also emailed these bullet points:

1. “At this time, there is no indication that there has been any impact to PIN numbers. What this means is their bank PIN debit card or Target debit card still has this additional layer of protection. It also means that someone cannot visit an ATM with a fraudulent card and withdraw cash."

2. “We have no indication that the data that was inappropriately accessed included a guest’ date of birth or social security number.

3. “The CVV data that may have been impacted was data in the magnetic strip and NOT the three or four-digit code visible on the card that guests use that would allow someone to make an online purchase.

4. “In addition, we have already alerted all of the networks (Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express) and provided the affected card numbers of guests who may have been impacted. The networks, in turn, are providing the affected card numbers to the financial institutions of our guests via a ‘batch’ or ‘CAMS alert.’ This alert process allows card providers to take steps to enact additional fraud monitoring.  For our REDcard holders, in addition to the robust fraud monitoring system we already had in place, we have added additional layers of security and fraud monitoring to their cards.”