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Target today says its holiday data breach is worse than the company initially announced.

The company said in a statement on its website that it now believes 70 million customers were affected by a data breach involving names, phone numbers, email and mailing addresses

Company spokeswoman Molly Snyder said this is separate from the 40 million customers affected by the credit card data breach, although she said there may be some overlap.


The company said it will try to contact customers involved in the larger breach, but said Target will not be asking anyone for any personal information. Target said the company will also be offering information to help people avoid scams.


The company also downgraded its expected fourth quarter financial results. Target is expecting a 2.5 percent decline in sales, citing weaker than expected sales following announcement of the data breach.


In a message on Target's website, CEO Gregg Steinhafel apologizes for the breach again, and says he is sorry that customers are being affected by the breach:

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Tim Nelson

Author

The company says the data is believed to be only partial records for the customers involved, but the number is nearly twice as many as the 40 million customers initially believed to be affected by the breach.

Target: Data breach now involves at least 70 million people

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