Creditmonitoring.target.com
• Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, www.privacyrights.org
• Ohio Attorney General’s Office, www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or 800-282-0515
Think you’re a victim?
Here is what you can do:
Sign up: Target began Monday allowing customers who shopped at their stores during the breach to register for one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection through ProtectMyID, provided by Experian. The Target data breach occurred between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15.
Deadline: Customers have until April 23 to request an activation code and until April 30 to register for the free service. Guests who sign up will also receive daily credit monitoring, identity theft insurance where available and have personal access to fraud resolution agents.
Consumer tips
A breach of security—especially involving encoded data—does not necessarily mean that your identity has been stolen but here are some other precautionary steps:
• Check your credit card and debit card accounts regularly. Monitor your accounts to look for suspicious activity, such as charges you don’t remember making. If you find any errors, immediately notify your credit or debit card provider.
• Change your PIN numbers and passwords for any affected accounts.
• Watch for possible “phishing” scams designed to obtain additional personal or financial information. When a security breach is announced, scammers may create phony messages or websites to take advantage of consumers.
• Place an initial fraud alert on your credit report. Contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion — to place an initial fraud alert, which will stay on your credit report for 90 days. The alert is free of charge and will make it more difficult for someone to open credit in your name.
• Check your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com. You are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. You can pull all three at once, or you can stagger pulling your reports throughout the year.
TransUnion, www.transunion.com, 1-800-680-7289
Equifax, www.equifax.com, 1-888-766-0008
Experian, www.experian.com, 1-888-397-3742
An extended seven-year alert requires a police report indicating identity theft occurred. Active-duty alerts are available to people on active military duty.
• Freeze Credit Reports to prohibits a credit reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without authorization or approval. This is designed to prevent impostors from using your information to be approved for credit, loans, or other services in your name.
It requires requests to all three reporting agencies in writing, by certified mail or other comparable service, or through a secured electronic method. There are fees associated with this service.
Source: Ohio Attorney General’s Office