During the peak of the 2013 holiday season, Target suffered a data breach in the United States that left an estimated 70 million customers vulnerables, as 40 million credit and debit card accounts were compromised. The retailer confirmed that it was hacked and revealed that customers at potential risk are ones who used their cards between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 -- a smart choice for the hackers as the holidays typically come with increased transactions which, in turn, would hide any irregularities that the company would otherwise notice. The cyber-criminals behind the hack reportedly have names, credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates, and three-digit security codes of store customers who made purchases.
"Target's first priority is preserving the trust of our guests and we have moved swiftly to address this issue, so guests can shop with confidence. We regret any inconvenience this may cause," said Gregg Steinhafel, Target's chairman, president and chief executive officer in a statement immediately after the announcement of the security breach. "We take this matter very seriously and are working with law enforcement to bring those responsible to justice." A spokesman stated that the Secret Service was investigating the issue to find the people involved in the Target securtity breach.
On Monday, a South Texas police chief announced that two arrests have been made relating to the Target credit card fraud cases after the alleged culprits spent tens of thousands of dollars' on merchandise on a card that was compromised in the security breach. McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez told reporters that Mary Carmen Garcia, 27, and Daniel Guardiola Dominguez, 28, had used credit card information of South Texas residents to make splurge purchases at Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us. Garcia and Dominguez -- both of Monterrey, Mexico.
Rodriguez told reporters that the Secret Service began working with local authorities after they received confirmation that the accounts victimized by fraudulent purchases were the ones exposed in the Target data breach in December. After watching surveillance footage, the investigators identified two individuals, with help from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a car that had Mexican license plates. Warrants were issued by the police, and federal officials were on the lookout for Garcia and Dominguez, who tried to re-enter the U.S. via the Anzalduas International Bridge on Sunday morning. They were traveling with 96 fraudulent cards, according to Rodriguez, and face state and federal charges.
While it was initially reported -- based on Rodriguez's statements that the hackers were "selling the data sets by region" -- that Garcia and Dominguez were involved in the Target credit card fraud case, an anonymous federal official told the Associated Press that credit card fraud case was not correlated with the Target breach. When asked about the Target fraud arrests, the spokeswoman of the Minneapolis-based company, Molly Snyder, wrote in an e-mail: "I'd have to refer you to local law enforcement there for any questions about their community." With no media outlet being able to get a confirmation from Rodriguez, the federal agents or Target, it is still unclear whether the first Target fraud arrests have been made.
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