Credit cards are convenient and generally easier to deal with than cash. In some cases, they’re even safer to carry than cash, and provide a paper trail of purchases in addition to regular receipts. Once in a while, however, we’re all reminded of how vulnerable these cards are to fraud and theft, as we were this past week with the huge breach of security at Target retail stores.
Customers who shopped at the stores during the first three weeks of the holiday shopping season were among those whose 40 million credit and debit cards were compromised.
Customer names, card numbers, expiration dates and the short verification codes known as CVVs were all stolen in the breach, according to Target, effectively leaving all of these cards entirely in the hands of scammers. The breach took place from Nov. 27 through Dec. 15, according to the store.
In response to the backlash and bad publicity, the general merchandise chain has extended the olive branch of free credit monitoring for anyone whose account was affected, and even decided to offer its 10 percent employee discount to all shoppers this past weekend.
This sort of hacking event is a nightmare for the chain’s ownership, who are making these gestures to restore the chain’s credibility as a safe place to shop. Even though the security breach is fixed now, the stigma of it will follow the chain for some time. Unfortunately, this event, which Target is dubbing a “cyberattack,” is very difficult to guard against. Authorities have said they believe overseas hackers were involved in the breach, but are not releasing any details in hopes of actually catching them.
Target’s breach isn’t the first high-tech, widespread major credit card scam to afflict American shoppers. Recent news reports note that T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Barnes & Nobles, PlayStation network users and others have all been major targets in recent years.
For those who want to be proactive and have the money to invest in a credit monitoring service, this can be the safest way to guard an account from misuse. For the rest of us, keeping a keen eye on credit card charges and matching them to our own receipts is a must, and anyone who believes they may have been the victim of fraud should immediately call their credit card company and report the issue to authorities.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office has announced that it can assist consumers in protecting themselves from identity theft and dealing with the aftermath if they are a victim. The Consumer Protection Division of the AG office doesn’t charge for services to put credit safeguards in check, file reports about the fraud and restore their credit.
It’s not just electronic debit and credit card information that gets stolen, either; all year-round, scammers are doing their best to separate people from their money, whether it’s by lying about providing services or prizes, or stealing right out of their wallets. It even happens within families, the AG office notes.
We won’t stop using our credit cards for fear that a scammer is picking up every swipe, but we can be diligent about reviewing our charges and being wary of our credit. Consumers can visit www.consumer.ftc.gov for more information and the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office can be reached at 1(800) 436-2131 or consumer.mediation@maine.gov.
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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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