Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is busy dealing with the problems caused by the massive credit and debit card data security breach as consumers filed lawsuits and investigations from attorneys general in several states amid the holiday season, according to report from the Los Angeles Times.
Two consumers have already filed class action lawsuits against the retailer in California. One complaint was filed in the federal court of San Francisco by Jennifer Kirk, a regular customer of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) who used his debit card while shopping Christmas gifts for her family.
Kirk alleged that the retailer “”failed to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature and scope of the information compromised in the data breach.” She also accused Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) of communicating “false sense of security” to its customers affected by the security breach by implying that issue had been solved.
She expressed worries that identity thieves could use the stolen data to make different transactions such as filing for fake tax returns or commit immigration fraud among others. Kirk pointed out she and many other consumers affected by the data security breach “now face years of constant surveillance of their financial and personal records, monitoring and loss of rights.”
Another lawsuit was filed by Colleen Klein from Orange County who accused Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) of “misrepresentations, concealments and non-disclosure of its poor, substandard security practices.”
Meanwhile, the attorneys general in the state of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York communicated to the retailer regarding their intention to investigate the problem.
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen requested more information about the data security breach. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he would use every power at his disposal to determine the extent of the breach while Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley wants to determine if Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) had appropriate safeguards in place to protect consumer information.
Approximately 40 million debit and credit cards used by customers who shopped at Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) have been compromised during the first three weeks of the holiday shopping season. The retailer said hackers did not obtain the PIN numbers and or the four digit security codes on the payment cards. The company also said that very few actual frauds have been reported since the breach happened.
In a statement, Gregg Steinhafel, CEO of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) said, “Our guests’ trust is our top priority at Target and we are committed to making this right. We want our guests to understand that just because they shopped at Target during the impacted timeframe; it doesn’t mean they are victims of fraud. In fact, in other similar situations, there are typically low levels
