In one of the most widely publicized and largest cases of identity theft, Target is attempting to make amends with the 110 million customers that had their electronic data stolen this past December 2013. They are offering free credit monitoring through Experian, one of the three major credit reporting bureaus.
It almost seems like too little too late. For the customers who lost their peace of mind, it appears that Target’s massive security breach is being glossed over in favor of a public feel good moment. What makes this whole thing smell like last Christmas’ leftover turkey is that Target is not highlighting the true usefulness- or, in this case, lack thereof- of this service.
What You Are Really Getting
Of course, customers need to register to take part in credit monitoring with Experian, but that is not the real down side. This monitoring is only if someone attempts to open an account or take out a line of credit in your name. Even then, it is only good for credit history requests done through Experian for new accounts. The day to day transactions that most people utilize are not part of the service at all.
The United States Bureau of Justice Statistics has previously said that approximately 85% of all ID theft involves the accounts we use on a daily basis. Now, couple that statistic with the fact that the data stolen from Target was on currently active accounts that customers use now (not new lines of credit). It seems there is a huge disconnect here and that, even with this monitoring, you are still not safe from identity theft.
Other Problems With Target’s Offer
As if the complete fruitlessness of Experian’s credit monitoring as a means of protecting customers from ID theft is not clear, there is more. Thank Consumer Reports for digging deeper for everyone. Yes, brace yourselves for the rest of the nasty details.
– The credit monitoring is only good for 12 months through one of the three reporting bureaus. This means that only queries sent to Experian will trigger an alert. Since the big three do not always share data, you could still be defrauded.
– Once you sign up with Experian, you now put yourself on a list of people that they and the other bureaus will actively solicit. Some customers have said they receive offers to purchase all three credit reports at one time for $15. Others have said they encourage you to sign up for monitoring with all three for an additional $75 year.
– Customers are being exploited because Target and Experian are also failing to inform them of a federal law which allows each person to place a 90-day Fraud Alert on their accounts free of charge. That’s right, consumers can do this free if they feel they may be the victim of ID theft.
Now everyone with half a brain is thinking: Gee, Target, thanks a lot for nothing. The best advice is to stay vigilant and keep an eye on your own bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial accounts. Checking them every month, quarterly, and yearly is the best thing you can do to protect yourself.
And, just in case anyone from Target is reading this … Why not engender some real good will with your customers? Corporate needs to come forward and tell them exactly what you have learned from this costly breach, as well as steps you have taken to prevent this from happening again. Until then, Target is now targeting its own customers. When will the after shocks end for this unforgivable and unfortunate incident?
This is scary. But it’s done. We can’t do much about it now. But as consumers, we need to find a better way to protect ourselves. It’s a good thing that Lifelock is affordable.
If we can’t trust the big retailers to take care of our personal information, then we’re all in trouble. We all need to find ways to protect ourselves. I’m going with Lifelock.
That’s a very limited monitoring Target and Experian are providing their customers. These customers are already in danger considering all their data have already been exposed. They need more protection than that.