FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Monday, January 13, 2014
CONTACT: Sara Rabern (605)773-3215
Attorney General Jackley Urges Target Customers to
Take Advantage of Free Credit Monitoring in Wake of Data Breach
PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley today urged all South Dakota residents who shop at Target stores to take advantage of one year of free credit monitoring being offered by the retail company in the wake of the massive data breach announced last month.
“Because Target’s security breach is affecting many South Dakotans, I have joined with other state Attorney’s General to further investigate the breach,” said Jackley. “I am further encouraging all Target customers to take advantage of the free credit monitoring, and to be proactive by changing PIN numbers and passwords.”
Last month, Target first reported a data breach involving the payment card information of 40 million customers had been obtained by hackers during November and December 2013. The stolen information included credit and debit card data, customer names and PIN (personal identification data) numbers. Last week, Target revealed that hackers also stole a second batch of data that included names, mailing addresses, phone numbers or email addresses for up to 70 million people.
Target is offering one year of free credit monitoring not only to those customers who had information compromised in the data breach but to all Target customers. Beginning today, consumers can register for free credit monitoring at creditmonitoring.target.com. Target's website provides answers to frequently asked questions concerning the credit monitoring at: https://corporate.target.com/about/payment-card-issue/credit-monitoring-FAQ.aspx.
The free credit monitoring will be offered through Experian’s ProtectMyID, and the service provides a copy of a credit report, daily credit monitoring, identity theft insurance (except where prohibited by law) and access to personalized assistance from a fraud resolution agent.
Target has provided the following information for consumers looking to take advantage of this program:
• Consumers who shopped in U.S. stores may request an activation code by entering their name and email address at creditmonitoring.target.com before April 23, 2014.
• Consumers will then receive an email from Target within one to five days that will include the unique activation code and instructions on how to register the code with ProtectMyID.
• Consumers will have until April 30, 2014, to register their code with ProtectMyID.
• Emails collected during the process of creating activation codes will only be used for the purpose of sending an activation code to enroll in free credit monitoring.
Attorney General Jackley is also warning consumers of phishing emails that will likely begin to surface. These emails look like they originate from Target but are actually scams directed at obtaining personal identifying information. These phishing emails may offer ‘free’ Target gift cards or Target-related monitoring. They will likely mention ‘Target’ in an email that directing consumers to a website with the word ‘Target’ in its URL. Do not give out personal information to someone who contacts you before going directly to Target’s website to confirm the presented information is correct.
Consumers with questions are encouraged to visit target.com/databreach or to contact Target directly at 866-852-8680. Anyone with additional questions or concerns may contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 800-300-1986 or at consumerhelp@state.sd.us.
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