Class-action lawsuits stack up against Target

Minneapolis -- In the wake of Target’s massive data breach first revealed on Thursday, three class-action lawsuits have been filed against the retailer, seeking more than $5 million in damages.



Target confirmed that the data theft involving 40 million credit and debit card holders’ accounts occurred over a 19-day period that stretched from Nov. 27 to Dec. 15, three of Target’s busiest shopping weeks of the year.



Because of the breach, at least 2 million shoppers who used bank debit cards at Target stores during the breach period are facing lower limits on how much cash they can take out of teller machines and spend at stores. The limitations, which are occurring during shoppers’ last-minute holiday purchasing time frames, are causing outrage among affected customers.



"This is the worst possible time something like this could happen," one industry analyst told the Wall Street Journal.



The large-scale security breach occurred at all 1,800 Target retail stores, and goes down as the second biggest of its kind, sitting only behind TJX Cos. March 2007 data breach.