Will we ever know whether the admission by the CEO of Target was due to the company’s stock plummeting after the transgender bathroom decision; or was this a true conviction within the man’s conscience?

From charismanews.com

Target CEO Admits Bathroom Policy Announcement Was Huge Mistake

A very damaging article just out from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) clearly shows that Target CEO Brian Cornell regrets his company’s policy announcement welcoming men to use women’s restrooms and fitting rooms.

WSJ interviewed a representative from the American Family Association (AFA), who launched the immensely successful #BoycottTarget initiative nearly a year ago. The 1.5 million-signature boycott has sent the strong message to the retailer that its misguided and potentially dangerous bathroom policy is the reason millions of families are no longer shopping there.

According to the article, Cornell expressed frustration about how the bathroom policy was publicized without his permission or knowledge, and told colleagues he wouldn’t have approved the decision to flaunt it with a public statement that is still on Target’s website today.

WSJ reported that Cornell told staff that “Target didn’t adequately assess the risk, and the ensuing backlash [AFA boycott] was self-inflicted.” (Read the entire WSJ article here; subscription required.)

The WSJ article also explained that Target headquarters sent an internal memo to store managers reiterating its official stance on men using women’s facilities. On April 15, 2016, a group Target calls its “risk committee” emailed executives informing them of a plan to post that message publicly. Cornell wasn’t among the recipients of that email, but at least two Target executives approved the post.

“The American Family Association Target boycott has wreaked internal havoc at Target,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “Out-of-touch executives incorrectly assumed that the backlash would die down, but we can see today—with plummeting stock prices and decreased traffic in stores—that it certainly has not.

“Together we are making an unprecedented financial impact on a corporation whose policy is to allow men to use women’s restrooms and dressing rooms,” Wildmon added. “Target’s decision is unacceptable for families, and its dangerous and misguided policy continues to put women and children in harm’s way.”

AFA is urging those concerned to the sign #BoycottTarget pledge by the end of April in order to reach an important threshold of 1.5 million signatures.

“At that point,” Wildmon said, “I will personally return to Target headquarters in Minneapolis with an additional 500,000 names. I will then discuss how Target can invite 1.5 million AFA supporters back to its stores by having a common-sense bathroom and dressing room policy that links use of these rooms to a person’s biological sex so that predators no longer have a method to prey on innocent victims.”

AFA is offering several ways to reach 1.5 million #BoycottTarget signatures:

• Sign—#BoycottTarget pledge
• Share—Ask family, friends and church members to sign the pledge. One effective strategy is to voice concerns politely but firmly on Target’s Facebook page and other social media sites using #BoycottTarget.
• Voice concerns on Target’s Facebook page or call Target to politely let its executives know you’ve signed the#BoycottTarget pledge—Guest Relations, (800) 440-0680, option 1, then 1 again.

“As AFA has stated many times, our worries do not stem from fear of the transgender community,” added Wildmon, “but rather, from both the real and potential threat that predators and voyeurs would take advantage of the Target bathroom policy to harm women and children—and there are plenty of incidents to show that they have.” – source

Brethren, we knew from the start that the reckless policy adopted by Target would put women and children in harm’s way. But liberals are ruled by political correctness at any cost.  For Target it turned out to be a cost from which they may never recover.

“A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself” (Proverbs 18:2).

MARANATHA

My husband and I have had credit card fraud 3 times in the past year. We have an Amazon credit card for purchases on that site. We have one other card we use online for other purchases. We had been told by our bank never to use our check card for online purchases.

We purchased wallets which have material to block  “scanners” from reading our credit card numbers.  Yes, there are people who walk around in stores with these scanners and collect numbers off your credit cards. If the card is in an unprotected wallet, the hacker can easily obtain your information.

We realized that the Amazon card had never been hacked in over 10 years.  We started looking up credit card fraud and where it happens most often.  After reading the article I am providing in this piece, we have decided to pay for our gas with cash – ONLY.

I know that this is certainly not a typical article written by me. But if this can help the brethren to remain safe from criminal hackers, then it is worth writing.

From abcnews.go.com

A new breed of credit card thieves is stealing unsuspecting customers’ credit card information at gas pumps by installing “skimmer” devices that steal a purchaser’s data as quickly as one swipe of a credit card.

The “old way, they used to come in here with a gun, or they used to break the windows at night when you were gone,” said Ahmad Motlagh, a California gas station owner who has been in the business for 33 years.

But now thieves have advanced with the times.

Earlier this year, a skimming device was found inside one of Motlagh’s pumps. Without his knowledge, the skimming device sat there for months silently stealing the credit card information of his customers.

Skimming has gotten so bad across the country that Steve Scarince, assistant to the special agent in charge at the United States Secret Service, is on the case. He described skimming as a “multi-billion dollar” problem.

ABC’s “The Lookout” asked Scarince if the U.S. Secret Service was winning the war on this crime.

“It’s even right now,” he said. “We’re doing our best. We certainly could use more help.”

The U.S. Secret Service gets help from local police departments, gas station owners and guys like Dan DeFelippi, a reformed credit card hacker who switched sides.

DeFelippi was caught by the Secret Service and then spent two years training Secret Service agents in the art of skimming.

Skimming, DeFelippi said, is “very easy, and it’s a lot of money. I mean, you can make tons of money. Gas station skimming is one of the easiest and best ways of doing it because [the skimmer] is hidden, the person using it will never see it. It’s simple to add. It’s simple to modify it.”

Gas station owners are seeking new ways to protect their pumps with locks and alarms, but most pump doors can be opened with universal keys.

Surprisingly, ABC’s “The Lookout” found that many of these keys are available for purchase online.

After a few hours or days, sometimes, the person who put the skimmer in place may retrieve the device. However, according to DeFelippi, some of the newer devices use Bluetooth technology to transmit the data remotely, so a person who places a skimmer could steal your credit card numbers without ever risking a return to the pump.

Once the credit information is obtained, the data thief has the option of selling the information or cloning the credit card.

“I was printing my own fake credit cards that looked just like the real thing,” DeFelippi said. “And then, I would go to the store and purchase electronics, expensive items, things I knew I could resell, and I would resell them.”

However, DeFelippi’s shopping sprees with counterfeit cards left a trail too easy to track, and he was caught.

These days, Scarince said, skimmer users have a new way of turning stolen credit cards into cash. They now sometimes use your credit card information to buy gas and pack that gas into huge, hidden tanks in their vehicles. They then go on to transfer that gas into a regular tanker and make what looks like a legitimate gas delivery to a crooked gas station owner, who will pay for the gas in cash.

So how can consumers protect themselves?

DeFelippi advised checking your credit card statements. Most credit card companies will suck up any loss if you report it within 60 days.

And try not to use a debit card: A skimmer user could drain your account, leaving you high and dry until the bank pays you back.”

Once at the gas station, choose a pump near the attendant. Skimmers prefer to target pumps in the shadows.

Finally, there is always the option of paying for gas inside the station. – source

My advice to the readers is when you purchase gas, pay inside, either with cash or your credit card.

The culprit for being hacked is using your credit card at the pump.

Aren’t you thankful that we will not have to be concerned with this in heaven?!

Shalom b’Yeshua,

MARANATHA!