Target stores across the US have experienced a significant data breach credit and debit cards through the black Friday weekend that could have exposed millions of customer information, as reported by Business Insider. The retail giant is studying the violation, but he believes it could have been the result of software that was installed at the point of sale credit and debit card machine.
What should I do if I shopped at Target during the Black Friday weekend?
The first thing you must do is not to panic. Although there is a good chance you may have been victims of the violation of the target, the company has not released any information about what specific stores were affected or the amount of information client was exposed.
Since it appears that the thieves wanted no credit or debit card, the best thing you can do now is to carefully check your credit card statements and debit. Make sure that all the charges were made by you and if you see a charge you do not recognize, then you should immediately call your bank to inquire about the purchase. Once it is determined that the charge is fraudulent, the partner of the bank on the phone will be able to help you with its reports of fraud procedure.
Are there additional steps to keep my identity safe?
An additional step you can take to ensure the security of your credit or debit card is to call your bank and request a new card number. With this tactic, even if your information was stolen in data breach, it will remain safe because the original card you used is no longer active.
If you want to protect your identity even more, then you may want to consider signing up for a service protection against identity theft. These services monitor your information to make sure it is not used, traded or sold to identity thieves and if they notice a violation or use of your personal information, then they alert you and give you advice detailing how you can restore your identity. In addition to monitoring of identity, these services also actively monitoring all three of your credit reports to make sure no new inquiries or credit lines on them. If the service sees any activity on your credit reports, it will alert you immediately. Read our identity notice of protection against theft to see what the service that best suits your budget and needs.
If you think that a breach of the target may have caused you to fall victim of identity theft then you should follow this step by step guide to recover your identity and good name.