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takyon writes:

Amazon exposed customer names and emails in a 'technical error'

Amazon exposed some customers' names and emails due to a "technical error," according to emails the company sent to affected customers. Several people shared screenshots of the emails online Wednesday morning. BetaNews first reported the incident.

In a statement, Amazon said, "We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted."

Despite the exposure, Amazon told the affected customers they did not need to change their passwords. But even with just their names and emails exposed, people could attempt to reset their accounts or target their emails for phishing attacks.

Also at The Register.

US Christmas sales predicted to surpass $1 trillion for the first time this year

Christmas holiday retail sales in the U.S. are expected to climb above the $1 trillion mark for the first time this year, on the back of low unemployment, solid income growth and higher consumer confidence, according to a study released Tuesday.

Total retail sales in the U.S. will hit $1.002 trillion during the holiday period — which it defines as spanning November 1 and December 31 this year — an increase of almost 6 percent from the previous year, marking the "strongest growth since 2011," data from market research firm eMarketer showed.

[...] The research said the sector would see a 4.4 percent gain year-on-year in in-store sales, rising to $878.38 billion, and that brick-and-mortar would be a "bright spot" for the retail industry as a whole for the 2018 Christmas holiday period. [...] E-commerce continues to grow in market share, however, and will capture 12.3 percent of the total sales figure this year, according to eMarketer. Online retail sales are predicted to rise 16.6 percent from the previous year, to $123.73 billion, the study said.

See also: Amazon reverses decision to block international sites in Australia

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