Target Shoppers – E-mail Security Breeched

If you’ve ever given your e-mail address to Target, you might have received an e-mail similar to this one I just received:

To our valued guests,

Target’s email service provider, Epsilon, recently informed us that their data system was exposed to unauthorized entry. As a result, your email address may have been accessed by an unauthorized party. Epsilon took immediate action to close the vulnerability and notified law enforcement.
While no personally identifiable information, such as names and credit card information, was involved, we felt it was important to let you know that your email may have been compromised. Target would never ask for personal or financial information through email.
Consider these tips to help protect your personal information online:

  • Don’t provide sensitive information through email. Regular email is not a secure method to transmit personal information.
  • Don’t provide sensitive information outside of a secure website. Legitimate companies will not attempt to collect personal information outside a secure website. If you are concerned, contact the organization represented in the email.
  • Don’t open emails from senders you don’t know.

We sincerely regret that this incident occurred. Target takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that all appropriate measures are taken to protect personal information. Please contact Guest.Relations@target.com should you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Gross
Vice President, Marketing and Guest Engagement

Even if you’ve never given Target your e-mail address, those are good things to remember!