Cape store largely unaffected by Target breach

The data breach Target fell victim to before Christmas has continued to cause headaches for its customers, but the Cape Girardeau store hasn't witnessed many issues stemming from it.

Hackers stole data related to 40 million credit and debit accounts, according to Target. The company later learned personal information including email and home addresses, phone numbers and names were swiped from as many as 70 million customers.

Target recently sent an email to customers who could be potential victims of the breach, offering them a year of free credit-monitoring services.

The Associated Press reported some Target customers who received the email were skeptical and thought the message could be another attempt to victimize them.

Target said the email is legitimate, the Associated Press reported, and letters sent to shoppers are posted on its website along with information on how to sign up for the service.

Liz Wassell, store team leader of Target in Cape Girardeau, said she has noticed fewer than 10 people who have encountered any kind of activity related to the breach. Many banks and credit branches were proactive and reissued cards to be on the safe side, she said.

"We actually haven't heard of as many people being affected locally," Wassell said Monday.

In an email to the Southeast Missourian, Molly Snyder of Target public relations said the company does not have specific numbers of those affected by the breach or who have enrolled in the credit-monitoring service in certain states or regions available to share.

Susan Layton, a Cape Girardeau lawyer, said she was contacted by her bank regarding her card information being breached.

There weren't any unauthorized charges made to her account, she said, and her bank sent her a new card.

"It makes me a little more careful," Layton said of shopping at Target. "I probably won't swipe a card there for a while."

Target REDcard debit or credit card holders have not been affected by the breach as much as other credit card holders, Wassell said, and are safer to use.

Customers reacted differently to news of the breach, Wassell said, and the store has "seen a little bit of everything," including customers who were surprised, scared and concerned.

It is hard to tell if news of the breach has affected business, she said, because normally December is a busy shopping month and business slows down in January.

"It's difficult to tell what's related to the breach and what's related to the flow of business," Wassell said.

Target has taken full accountability for its actions, Wassell said, and been "as proactive as they could be" in the matter.

"I'm happy with the way that Target has handled it," she said.

Bank representatives were unavailable for comment because banks were closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Account information stolen during the Target security breach is now being divided up and sold off regionally, a south Texas police chief said Monday after the arrest of two Mexican citizens who authorities say arrived at the border with 96 fraudulent credit cards.

McAllen, Texas, police chief Victor Rodriguez said Mary Carmen Garcia, 27, and Daniel Guardiola Dominguez, 28, both of Monterrey, Mexico, used cards containing the account information of south Texas residents. Rodriguez said they were used to buy tens of thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise at national retailers in the area including Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.

"They're obviously selling the data sets by region," Rodriguez said.

Garcia and Guardiola were being held Monday on state fraud.

For more information about the Target data breach, visit target.com/databreach.

ashedd@semissourian.com

388-3632

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pertinent address:

202 Siemers Dr., Cape Girardeau, MO