What to do if you shopped at Target during its data breach

Rocketman · Dec 19, 2013

Consumers who shopped at one of Target’s 1,778 stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 should check their credit and bank card statements for any fraudulent activity.

Target (TGT) confirmed Thursday that it’s investigating a security breach that may have impacted as many as 40 million people. The stolen data include customer names, credit and debit card numbers, card expiration dates and the three-digit security codes located on the backs of cards. The breach affected transactions at Target’s bricks-and-mortar locations nationwide, not online purchases.

Security blogger Brian Krebs first reported the breach on Wednesday. Krebs wrote that the type of data stolen “allows crooks to create counterfeit cards by encoding the information onto any card with a magnetic stripe. If the thieves also were able to intercept PIN data for debit transactions, they would theoretically be able to reproduce stolen debit cards and use them to withdraw cash from ATMs.”

What to do if you shopped at Target during its data breach - Yahoo Finance

This is why cash is still king

Helix · Dec 19, 2013

Buddy of mine just posted on FB that his entire account got cleaned out. Can't get the money back until the 27th. ****ing thieves.

Rocketman · Dec 19, 2013

Helix said:
Buddy of mine just posted on FB that his entire account got cleaned out. Can't get the money back until the 27th. ****ing thieves.

I pay cash for everything I buy locally. Also this generation either does not know or doesn't care that discounts come with cash payment.

donsutherland1 · Dec 19, 2013

Rocketman said:
Consumers who shopped at one of Target’s 1,778 stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 should check their credit and bank card statements for any fraudulent activity.

Target (TGT) confirmed Thursday that it’s investigating a security breach that may have impacted as many as 40 million people. The stolen data include customer names, credit and debit card numbers, card expiration dates and the three-digit security codes located on the backs of cards. The breach affected transactions at Target’s bricks-and-mortar locations nationwide, not online purchases.

Security blogger Brian Krebs first reported the breach on Wednesday. Krebs wrote that the type of data stolen “allows crooks to create counterfeit cards by encoding the information onto any card with a magnetic stripe. If the thieves also were able to intercept PIN data for debit transactions, they would theoretically be able to reproduce stolen debit cards and use them to withdraw cash from ATMs.”

What to do if you shopped at Target during its data breach - Yahoo Finance

This is why cash is still king

If you shopped there, have your bank/credit card company cancel and block the card you used and reissue you a new one. Also have the bank/credit card company provide you with all transactions from mid-November to the present time to see if any illicit transactions had occurred.

Rocketman · Dec 19, 2013

donsutherland1 said:
If you shopped there, have your bank/credit card company cancel and block the card you used and reissue you a new one. Also have the bank/credit card company provide you with all transactions from mid-November to the present time to see if any illicit transactions had occurred.

I just pay cash and don't worry about it

Lutherf · Dec 19, 2013

Helix said:
Buddy of mine just posted on FB that his entire account got cleaned out. Can't get the money back until the 27th. ****ing thieves.

That sucks!!

I checked my account this morning and didn't see any problems. I'll continue to do the same for the next couple of weeks but I normally keep a fairly low balance in my debit card account anyway and just transfer funds in from another account when the need arises.

donsutherland1 · Dec 19, 2013

Rocketman said:
I just pay cash and don't worry about it

Using cash is always safer. I was just addressing the issue of what people who used debit/credit cards should do.

Helix · Dec 19, 2013

Lutherf said:
That sucks!!

I checked my account this morning and didn't see any problems. I'll continue to do the same for the next couple of weeks but I normally keep a fairly low balance in my debit card account anyway and just transfer funds in from another account when the need arises.

i do almost everything via debit or check. i watch the account like a hawk, though. luckily, i didn't visit Target during the risk window.

Montecresto · Dec 19, 2013

Rocketman said:
I pay cash for everything I buy locally. Also this generation either does not know or doesn't care that discounts come with cash payment.

Major pain in the ass, but totally true.