By Oh noes. Some unfortunate news has come out of Target this morning, with the big retailer informing everyone of a company-wide breach. It seems some no-good hackers got access to payment information for over 40 million shoppers who stepped into a Target store between the dates of November 27th and December 15, 2013 (which might have been you if you were looking for a great deal on Android phones or tablets during the big shopping season).
Target notes that they began investigating the incident as soon as they found out, and that they’ve thrown every resource that they have behind trying to rectify the situation. That includes contacting relevant authorities and all financial institutions.
While Target emphasizes that the breach only affected customers who shopped in their stores, we’d still keep an eye on bank statements if you shopped online. You can never be too safe in these situations, folks. So what’s going to happen from here?
- If Target finds that more sensitive identity-based information was accessed, they might offer free identity protection services.
- Target says they have closed the security hole and are continuing to investigate to make sure things are peachy clean (things should be relatively safe otherwise), but you should continue to monitor your accounts.
- You’ll want to check Target’s information page about this incident for any specific actions you might need to take based on your place of residence to make sure anything that happens as a result of this doesn’t affect your credit report.
Beyond all that, they say everything should be back to normal and assures us that folks can continue to shop with confidence. Whether or not you’re actually confident enough to do that is a personal decision to make for you and you alone. Be sure to head to the source link for more information.
[via Target]
Ouch! Right before the holidays, too. I wonder how this news will affect shopper traffic.
I used to be a shopper like you, but I took a hacker to the wallet.
NO
I need to run out after work tonight and grab some stuff I’d normally grab at Target. I’ll admit, my first thought is that I should probably steer clear for now until the dust settles.
Like a guy who has recently been told by his ex that she’s pregnant, I quickly had to count back to the last time I bought something at Target. Good news! It isn’t mine! :P
Just checked my account for fraudulent charges……way to go, Target.
Oh good, I’ve only spent about $400 at Target since Black Friday and have a Red Card. Haven’t seen anything bad yet, but thinking about getting a pair of new cards. Need to do some shopping today… I think I’m going to Fred Meyers.
Their advice sucks! This really means you should cancel all credit cards and get new cards. They don’t tell you to do that but why wouldn’t you. It’s like buying a phone off craigslist. The ESN can be clean today but after a couple months of no payments it could become banned. Same here. Someone could sit on your card for a month or 2 and then bam use it and your screwed.
You’re screwed how? I don’t know of a single credit card company that holds you liable for fraudulent charges. What more do you want Target to do? At least they announced it quickly. If you are paranoid, sure, cancel your cards and get new ones. If you aren’t, just keep an eye on your account for the next few months.
So why don’t you post your credit card numbers here if your fine having your credit card numbers floating around.
Why don’t you try not overreacting. No one wants their credit card #s floating around, but claiming that you are “screwed” is silly. There is no liability for fraudulent charges. If you are worried about having to deal with a fraud report then cancel your cards now. If you aren’t that worried, keep an eye out for fraudulent charges and get on with your life.
That is the choice. Either way your inconvenienced.
You are screwed if you don’t catch it.
You are screwed because these crimes come at cost. Who pays for the fraud?
Thank goodness I waited for Amazon to price match everything I’ve bought pretty much. Dodged it.