Target's Steinhafel reaches out to consumers in wake of payment card hacking

MINNEAPOLIS — The chief executive of Target is reaching out to consumers in the wake of the widespread hacking of credit and debit card data at Target stores that the company confirmed last week.

In a statement on the mass-merchandise retailer's website, president, chairman and CEO Gregg Steinhafel sought to ameliorate customers' worries about the possibility that their cards were compromised. He emphasized that the issue had been "identified and eliminated," while the retailer extended a 10% discount to customers who shopped at its stores on Saturday and Sunday.

"We want our guests to understand that just because they shopped at Target during the impacted time frame, it doesn't mean they are victims of fraud," Steinhafel said. "In fact, in other similar situations, there are typically low levels of actual fraud. Most importantly, we want to reassure guests that they will not be held financially responsible for any credit and debit card fraud."

The company confirmed last week that there was an unauthorized access to payment card data for about 40 million customers between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. The scale of the hacking was enough that it was a top story in many media outlets around the country, including the New York Times and others. However, it appears that it only affected customers who shopped at the retailer's brick-and-mortar stores, not its website.