Thousands of Target gift cards bought over the holiday season were not properly registered according to a statement from the retailer CNN Money reported Tuesday.
"We are aware that some Target gift cards were not fully activated and apologize for the inconvenience," Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman told CNN Money.
Many customers appeared to have issues with the cards when purchasing merchandise from the store CNN Money reported.
The nuisance affects no more than .1 percent of cards purchases throughout the holiday shopping season.
According to The San Jose Mercury News, Target staff used the incorrect code on a maximum 40,000 cards.
Target suggests those with affected cards visit one of the company's guest service desk for a reconcilement or dial 1-800-544-2943.
Forty million credit and debit account numbers were taken from Target customers between Nov. 27, and Dec. 15, and were reportedly being used on new plastics Krebs On Security reported.
The incident spanned the country in Target stores, and not online, and could have involved thieves fiddling with the machines customers utilize to slide their cards through while purchasing merchandise Bloomberg Businessweek reported.
An update from Target's website Dec. 20 said no pin information is believed to be obtained according to CNN Money. The security code on the cards plastic sticker near the card owner's signature on the underside of the card are also considered to be safe. The same is true for card user's social dates of birth, and social security number. Pins were then found to be taken, but not accessible Bloomberg reported.
Target gave a 10 percent discount to the customers affected by the crisis ABC News reported.
The retailer also warned about a fake e-mail scam, reminding customers that all official e-mails from Target corporate communications are posted on the company's website The Boston Globe reported.
