ID THEFT ALERT!!! DO YOU SHOP AT TARGET?

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Target hack: 40 million card accounts may have been breached
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO and MICHELLE CHAPMAN
Associated Press
12/19/2013

Target says that about 40 million credit and debit card accounts may have been affected by a data breach that occurred just as the holiday shopping season shifted into high gear.

The chain said that accounts of customers who made purchases by swiping their cards at terminals in its U.S. stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 may have been exposed. The stolen data includes customer names, credit and debit card numbers, card expiration dates and the three-digit security codes located on the backs of cards. The data breach did not affect online purchases.

The Minneapolis company said it immediately told authorities and financial institutions once it became aware of the breach and that it is teaming with a third-party forensics firm to investigate the matter and prevent future breaches. It said it is putting all "appropriate resources" toward the issue.

Target Corp. advised customers to check their statements carefully. Those who suspect there has been unauthorized activity on their cards should report it to their credit card companies and call Target at 866-852-8680. Cases of identity theft can also be reported to law enforcement or the Federal Trade Commission.

Target didn't say exactly how the data breach occurred, but said it had since fixed the problem and that credit card holders can continue shopping at its stores. When asked whether there's a certain time when shoppers know their accounts will no longer be vulnerable, a Target spokeswoman said," We encourage everyone to be vigilant."

But news of the breach comes at the height of the critical holiday shopping season and threatens to scare away shoppers worried about the safety of their personal data. The November and December period accounts for 20 percent, on average, of total retail industry sales.

For Target, the security breach is a particular black eye because it has used its red credit and debit cards as a powerful marketing tool to lure shoppers at a time when the discounter has had an uneven sale performance since the recession.

Since 2010, Target has offered shoppers who use its cards 5 percent off on purchases and has rolled out other incentives like free shipping for online customers. The company said during its earnings call in November that as of October the percentage of customers who have the Target branded cards topped 20 percent. This holiday season, Target added other incentives to use its cards. Two days before Thanksgiving, Target.com ran a special review sale with 25 exclusive offers, from electronics to housewares for those who used the branded card.

As a result of these incentives, Target says its continues to see that households who activate a Target-branded card have increased their spending at the store by about 50 percent on average.

"This is how Target is getting more customers in the stores," said Brian Sozzi, CEO and Chief Equities Strategist. "It's telling people to use the card. It's been a big win. If they lose that trust, that person goes to Wal-Mart."

Target is just the latest retailer to be hit with a data breach problem. TJX Cos., which runs stores such as T.J. Maxx and Marshall's, had a breach that began in July 2005 that exposed at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards to possible fraud. The breach wasn't detected until December 2006. In June 2009 TJX agreed to pay $9.75 million in a settlement with multiple states related to the massive data theft but stressed at the time that it firmly believed it did not violate any consumer protection or data security laws.

An even larger hack hit Sony in 2011. It had to rebuild trust among PlayStation Network gamers after hackers compromised personal information including credit card data on more than 100 million user accounts. Sony was criticized for slowness in alerting users to the breach.

"Target's first priority is preserving the trust of our guests and we have moved swiftly to address this issue, so guests can shop with confidence. We regret any inconvenience this may cause," Chairman, President and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement Thursday.

Target has 1,797 U.S. stores and 124 in Canada.
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_24756498/target-hack-40-million-card-accounts-may-have

If you shopped at Target, between Nov. 27--Dec. 15, you should probably check your credit card charges on a daily basis. If you used a debit card, keep checking your checking account balances.

My debit card data was stolen in that 2005 security breach of TJX Cos, after I shopped at T.J. Maxx. It was used to withdraw money from my checking account at an ATM in Capetown South Africa. Fortunately, the bank's computer recognized the transaction as possible fraud, and it blocked my account after 3 withdrawals in a row.

I had no idea how or where my identity was stolen, until they caught the hackers in 2006 and it made the news. Then it all made sense. I now only use my debit card, when I do use it to shop, as a credit card, without having to enter my password, for better security.

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@firefly,

Ouch!

When I first read this on the news, I thought 'does target have their own credit cards?'. Then the light dawned, how awful.

I like Target, but my shopping levels are quite reduced these days and I haven't been there recently.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

I was gonna get Mrs F some neat little jammies from Target, Not no More!!.

1 Reply

U get better security from credit cards than from debit cards.
I like to pay in cash or to use credit cards with very low credit limits.
That way, in a worst case scenario, only a trivial sum will be at issue.

David

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@OmSigDAVID,

Quote:

U get better security from credit cards than from debit cards.
I like to pay in cash or to use credit cards with very low credit limits.
That way, in a worst case scenario, only a trivial sum will be at issue.

My credit cards limit my liability to only $50 if they are used fraudulently or for unauthorized charges, so the credit limit doesn't really make any difference.

And, when my stolen info was used to make a dummy debit card, and money was withdrawn from my checking account, the bank replaced the funds.

These things are just a pain in the neck and an inconvenience to get sorted out. At least the people, and credit card companies, affected by the security breach at Target will know how and where it came from.

But I'll bet that there are some dishonest people, who did shop at Target, who will now claim there are unauthorized charges on their cards for purchases they made themselves. That could be a nightmare for the credit card issuers, and merchants, given how many card holders information was breached.

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@firefly,

DAVID wrote:

U get better security from credit cards than from debit cards.
I like to pay in cash or to use credit cards with very low credit limits.
That way, in a worst case scenario, only a trivial sum will be at issue.

firefly wrote:

My credit cards limit my liability to only $50 if they are used fraudulently or for unauthorized charges, so the credit limit doesn't really make any difference.

And, when my stolen info was used to make a dummy debit card, and money was withdrawn from my checking account, the bank replaced the funds.

These things are just a pain in the neck and an inconvenience to get sorted out. At least the people, and credit card companies, affected by the security breach at Target will know how and where it came from.

But I'll bet that there are some dishonest people, who did shop at Target, who will now claim there are unauthorized charges on their cards for purchases they made themselves. That could be a nightmare for the credit card issuers, and merchants, given how many card holders information was breached.

There might be fighting over which charges are legitimate; low limits on the card
will reduce the size of the purchases in dispute.

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Quote:

There might be fighting over which charges are legitimate; low limits on the card will reduce the size of the purchases in dispute.

That's true.

The shoppers in this situation really have to cancel those credit cards and have new ones issued, and get new debit cards as well, and when you cancel a credit card, or get a new one, I think that does affect your credit score from the three major reporting companies, it does lower it slightly.

All of the breached card info can be used anywhere in the world to make purchases, and I heard there already is increased internet chatter suggesting some of these stolen card numbers are already for sale, and, since they also have the security code for each card, those who buy the data can easily make internet purchases. The magnitude of this type of crime is enormous. What was fairly unique about this one at the Target stores was that they captured the data at the point of sale, when the cards were swiped, at almost 1800 stores, so it may have involved the data processing center for Target.

Whoever pulled off this crime is going to make an enormous haul from it, and the probability that they will get away with it is rather good. It's really an impressive crime. The damage to the banks and merchants, from fraudulent use of the card info, is going to be considerable because 40 million cards are involved.

And it may put a damper on people's in-store shopping at other retailers, beside Target, just before Christmas, when these stores are doing their maximum push to get people to buy.

I'm glad I didn't shop at Target, but you don't know where this kind of security breach could happen next...it's a very lucrative crime to pull off.

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Zimmerman did it. It is only black customers. Relax
Laughing

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@farmerman,

Quote:

I was gonna get Mrs F some neat little jammies from Target, Not no More!!.

That's the kind of reaction that's probably giving Target nightmares.

Can you order the jammies for Mrs. F from Target online--this breach only involved in-store purchases. Why leave her jammie-deprived because of this? Wink

1 Reply

@firefly,

She shops a lot at a place called CHICO's. I think its a chain stoe. I got her jammies there (but I think I hadda pay more than I would have at TARGEY

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@firefly,

I haven’t been to a Target in quite a while. Just last week I was surprised to find out the Walgreens pharmacy keeps my debit card in their system.

1 Reply

@jcboy,

jcboy wrote:

I haven’t been to a Target in quite a while.
Just last week I was surprised to find out the Walgreens pharmacy keeps my debit card in their system.

I don t think that 's safe,
for a debit card, Morgan. With a credit card, u r safe above $5O.

David

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Yeah I wasn’t too happy with knowing that, I found out after I paid cash for my prescription and got an alert on my iPhone from Walgreens charging my debit card for the same amount.

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My credit card info. was stolen in Maui when we went on our honeymoon five years ago. I think it was at a parking lot that accepted credit cards for payment. There was a string of about fifty small charges to the account all originating in Mumbai, India. The last one was for a colon cleanser that the thieves purchased from China and had delivered to my billing address.

1 Reply

@InfraBlue,

That's almost funny, InfraB. But extremely annoying at the same time.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

Meantime, food stamp accounts hacked..

sorry, no link.

for anyone reading with an ebt account, change your password.

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ID THEFT ALERT!!! DO YOU SHOP AT TARGET?

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