Police in Texas say Target believes a man arrested for credit card fraud last year is connected to the massive retail store data breach that might've compromised the information of more than 110 million customers.
"Georgetown police arrested this man, Guo Xing Chen, around the time of that breach. ... Police say they arrested him in mid-December after he had reportedly used some stolen debit and credit cards." (Via KEYE)
"Officers say before, he used stolen cards to buy thousands of dollars of Target Visa cards and Apple iPads at a store in Temple." (Via KVUE)
According to USA Today, information from an affidavit says one Target employee alleged Chen purchased $700 in gift cards using plastic currency linked to another name the day he was arrested.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Georgetown police say Chen has been in jail since Dec. 12, and for some unspecified reason investigators at Target believe he is connected to the $70 million Target security breach, though Georgetown police say they aren't convinced he initiated the data theft.
That breach was first reported back in December. Since then, reports have indicated that Target might've missed the initial alarms set off by hackers and Target's CEO has stepped down in the subsequent fallout. (Via Businessweek, Fox Business)
The Austin American-Statesman reports Chen is being held in the Williamson County Jail with bail set at $40,000.
