Data breach at major retailer

Sometimes I wonder how many credit cards do I have. I think I got about 10 different credit and debit cards; and if I include the rewards plus gift cards, my purse becomes a tiny fat briefcase. I don’t feel safe to have all those cards in my purse while getting out of the house, so I usually put only the cards in my purse that I plan to use during that week/month. There were times when I used to have couple of credit cards from well recognized credit card companies only, but now I have about six or seven credit cards just from the retailers and stores that I visit regularly, i.e, Yonkers, Sears, Walmart and so on. When I heard about the data breach in Target back in 2013, I first questioned to myself if I own a credit card from this store. I felt relief that I did not own any card from Target, but when I read the news that guest accounts had been impacted as well and information had been stolen, I was full of worries.

Approximately 40 million credit and debit card accounts of Target customers might had been impacted between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013. The company announced that if the customers shopped at Target between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013, they should keep a close eye for any suspicious or unusual activity on any credit or debit card accounts that they used while shopping during that time. The hackers had gained access to guest credit and debit card information and certain guest personal information was also taken. The information included names, mailing addresses, email addresses or phone numbers.  The company mentioned that up to 70 million individuals might be affected and they were committed to making this right and were investing in the internal processes and systems needed to reduce the likelihood that this ever happens again.

I live close to Target store and I had been there during that time frame for shopping and groceries. I did check my credit and debit card transactions during that time period but did not see any suspicious transactions, but I was really paying more attention to see if there was any major transaction that happened. What if the hackers had charged $1 to my credit card account indicating a service or membership fee? I would probably have ignored it as it was $1 only, but now when I read into this more – what if they had stolen $1 from each of those 70 million individuals impacted?

We all should know that online information we provide in today’s world is not going to be 100 % secured, all we can do is try our best effort to secure the information. Once I figured out I had visited target store during that time frame and had used my credit card, I called my credit card company and reported this. They issued me a new card and suggested me to pay more attention to my credit transactions and statements.  Based on my experience with Target’s data breach, I agree with below suggestion from the retailer which we can do to avoid social engineering scams:

Ø  Keep an eye on your monthly statements. If youraccount information is stolen, fraudsters can use it to charge purchases orcommit crimes in your name. Watch for unusual charges such as “membership fees”and other goods or services you didn’t authorize. If you see a charge you don’trecognize, contact your account provider immediately.

Reference:

 Target (n.d.). Data Breach FAQ. Retrieved March 17^th, 2015 from https://corporate.target.com/about/shopping-experience/payment-card-issue-FAQ