Target website down amid Cyber Monday traffic

Target’s website was downed by a flood of shoppers seeking deep discounts on Cyber Monday.

As of midmorning, the site was not available, instead displaying an error message that read, in part, “So sorry, but high traffic’s causing delays.”

{mosads}Often, a flood of traffic that renders a website unavailable is a sign of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, in which hackers overwhelm a site with fake visitors.

But the rush of online shopping after Thanksgiving has taken out a number of major retailers online, including Neiman Marcus, Victoria’s Secret and Foot Locker, Reuters reported.

Target had also made an aggressive push to lure shoppers on Cyber Monday, advertising 15 percent discounts on all orders made Monday and even steeper discounts on specific items throughout the week.

With the glut of shoppers hitting the Web Monday — over 121 million, according to the National Retail Federation — cybersecurity experts have warned that hackers will also be trying to profit.

A significant portion of yearly online fraud occurs during the holiday shopping season, according to security researchers.

Cyber criminals have been caught trying to trick consumers into clicking on fake ads offering deals or downloading imitation apps of major retailers. Security experts are warning online shoppers to be extra careful to click only on trusted links while browsing in the coming weeks.