A few weeks ago, the shocking news of Target’s security breach left many people stunned and angry. This incident put millions of Target shoppers, who made purchases in November and December, at risk of identity theft because hackers got hold of their credit card information.
But things have gotten even worse. It turns out that the hackers didn’t just steal credit card details—they also got their hands on customer emails, phone numbers, names, and home addresses. Target has admitted that the situation is more serious than they first thought, potentially affecting up to 110 million customers. Around the same time, Neiman-Marcus also experienced a security breach affecting their buyers during the holiday season.
If you’re like most Americans who find credit cards convenient, how can you protect your information? Here are a few tips:
1. Use Cash
Switching to cash transactions avoids electronic trail, reducing the chances of your information being swiped in retail stores. But keep in mind, your data can still be stolen in other situations like hospital records or student loan services.
2. Check Your Credit Report Every Year
You can get a free credit report annually from annualcreditreport.com. Spread out your requests across the year by getting one report from each bureau—TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. For example, get a TransUnion report in January, Equifax in May, and Experian in September. This way, you can keep an eye out for any suspicious activity throughout the year.
3. Use a Credit Monitoring Service
For about $80 to $100 a year, you can subscribe to a credit monitoring service. These services alert you quickly if there’s suspected identity theft, often before too much damage is done. They also help you restore your credit if it gets compromised.
4. Freeze Your Credit
While checking your credit report and using monitoring services help detect identity theft, they don’t stop it from happening. To prevent it altogether, you can freeze your credit. This means no one, including you, can open new lines of credit. When you want to apply for a credit card or loan, you have to unfreeze your credit by contacting the reporting bureau and using a pin. You can unfreeze it for a specific period or indefinitely. There might be small fees for doing this.
If you’re worried about security breaches and identity theft, the most effective steps you can take are using cash or freezing your credit. If these methods don’t work for you, regularly checking your credit report and investing in a credit monitoring service can give you some peace of mind.