Wilmington – Following today’s announcement by national retailer Target that millions of customers’ payment account information may have been comprised in a data breach, Attorney General Beau Biden today provided tips to Delaware consumers whose accounts may have been affected.  According to authorities, payment card data may have been stolen for as many as 40 million Target customers who made credit or debit card purchases in its U.S. stores from November 27, 2013 to December 15, 2013.  Data taken in this breach may have included customer name, credit or debit card number, the card’s expiration date, and the card’s three-digit CVV security code.

“All consumers who made credit or debit card purchases at Target over the past three weeks should closely monitor their account activity, follow some simple tips we’re providing, and contact our Consumer Protection Unit at 800-220-5424 if they believe they have been the victim of fraud as a result of this scheme,” Biden said today.

In addition to monitoring activity on the credit and debit cards used to make purchases at Target, Biden urged consumers to immediately take the following precautionary steps:

• Contact the financial institution that provides the card consumers used at Target during this time period to place a fraud alert on that account.
• Obtain a free credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies by visiting www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228.  By law, consumers are entitled to receive one free credit report from each credit reporting agency every year.
• Place a fraud alert on credit reports with each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies by contacting Equifax at 800-525-6285, Experian at 888-397-3742, and TransUnion at 800-680-7289.
• Learn more about preventing credit card fraud by visiting http://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/consumers/protection/idtheft.shtml.

Consumers who identify suspicious charges on credit or debit accounts should immediately contact those financial institutions and take the following steps:

• Contact the Fraud Department of each of their creditors, including all credit card companies, banks, utilities, cable providers, etc., even if accounts with those creditors have not been directly affected by the fraud. Ask each creditor to place a “fraud alert” on those accounts. If there are charges on those accounts that are fraudulent, creditors may ask consumers to submit a written report of the fraud, along with other documentation.
• Consider placing a security freeze on credit reports from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies to prevent unauthorized release.  There is a modest fee for this service, although that fee is waived for victims of identity theft.  Request a security freeze in writing from each agency by writing:

Equifax Security Freeze, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta , GA 30348

Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen , TX 75013

TransUnion Security Freeze, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton , CA 92834

• Report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at 877-IDTHEFT (877-438-4338) or www.ftc.gov/idtheft.

Finally, Delaware consumers who become the victim of Identity Theft from this breach or other frauds should contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit at 1-800-220-5424.  The Consumer Protection Unit can help direct victims to the proper police agency to file a criminal report, answer any other Identity Theft questions they may have, and enroll them in the Delaware Identity Theft Passport Program which helps victims recover from damage that ID theft causes.  Learn more about the Identity Theft Passport Program at http://www.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/consumers/protection/brochure/idthpass.pdf.

Read Target’s announcement of the data breach at: https://corporate.target.com/discover/article/Important-Notice-Unauthorized-access-to-payment-ca

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