Victim of the Target Data Breach? Here’s What To Do

Millions of Target customers as well as those of several other retailers recently were victims of data breaches over the holidays. If you were one of them, you should know what to do.

  1. If you used plastic at any of them, especially Target, monitor your account daily, login online, to check out if there any unauthorized charges.
  2. Accept the credit monitoring service your card offers you but only if it is a legitimate offer. Be careful for spam emails trolling to collect your personal data. Through various breaches my wife and I have had over the years, we have had the service free for many years, but never an unauthorized use or ID theft.
  3. Notify your bank, tell them what is going on, they may issue you a new card.
  4. Change your personal identification number – PIN.
  5. If you are sure your account has been compromised, you may want to freeze the account for 90 days.
  6. If your credit card information has been stolen, such as at a local retailer or from your purse or wallet, call the police and file a report. This may be necessary to get your money back from your bank.

Now, you are probably wondering; What should I do to protect yourself from credit card information theft in the future? If so, see the next article.