I really hate that this happened to a really great store. Working in IT previously for a bank where I live, we'd always see an uptick in fraud this time of year. Now if the theifs would divert their mental capacities towards business... Good grief what they could accomplish.

"In most cases where the transactions are fraudulent, you have no liability. I've had cards "compromised" a couple of times." - BambiB.

Right, but if all your money is taken via your debit card, life will be inconvenient until you straighten that out.

Also, pointed noted about the CVV codes: I was surprised, shocked, actually.

And finally I read that some of the compromised cards have already been duplicated and used.

The latest updates, and some advice on how to monitor:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/what-to-do...

And to add to it, here was a story that coirms they got ALL the goodies:

http://www.zdnet.com/target-confirms-bre...

Target confirms major card data theft during Thanksgiving
Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:52am EST
Reuters here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/1...

However "target hacked" returned almost no MSM hits via Google, just some local news outlets.

You will not know for maybe a year or more if your account is compromised. Typically, the underground economy depends on a division of labor - no surprise - and the people who figure out the attack work with those who get the data who then sell the lists to others who mine them and comb them. They will see if they already have passwords for you from other accounts, for instance. They may find weak websites that accept credit card numbers without requiring the security code on the back and from them, they will buy merchandise with for themselves or for resale.

You might be better off with four or five low-dollar cards, keeping your best bank card only for direct deposits and not using it for retail transactions.

Go here and scroll down to "Data Mining is Scary" to read an older post warning about Target's vulnerabilities.
http://intentionalprivacy.com/

More can be said about personal security in the Internet Age.

I guess a bigger question is: how did they do it, was it an inside job, and are these same readers in other places that may not have figured it out yet that they have been hacked?

Ouch. I may have. I wasn’t really shopping. I walked-in to make a payment on a card. I paid cash at the service desk. They did swipe my card to access the account, but I don’t know if that opens me up to the same vulnerabilities as someone who is making a point-of-sale swipe. Do you know?