Losing an identity war

Posted: January 17, 2014


In mid-December, Target said that criminals had forced their way into its computer system and gained access to customer credit- and debit-card information. Initially, Target said about 40 million shoppers were affected.

Last week, the retailer disclosed that the personal data for an additional 70 million customers had also been stolen.

With your personal information, identity thieves can do a lot of financial harm. They can gain access to your bank account, open utility or mobile phone accounts, or get medical treatment using your health insurance.

I hear a lot of stories about identity theft. A banker once told me his information was stolen during a data breach. Someone was able to get an auto loan with his information. Because the crook paid the loan on time, the victim had a hard time clearing the matter up.




Do the recent data breaches mean we should stop using plastic?



Even with credit monitoring, your information can still be used by identity thieves. The notices you get are after the fact, after something suspicious or fraudulent might have happened. You might catch something early, but you can't totally prevent identity theft.


But here's an example of why you need to take steps to protect yourself: I got a call this week from someone claiming he could help insure me against hackers. Since I shopped at Target during the period of the data breach, I wondered if the suspicious call was the result of that incident. The caller tried to get me to divulge personal information. He provided some convoluted explanation about how he got my information. I listened for a bit and then told him I believed he was trying to scam me and hung up.

I've become paranoid about my personal information, so my husband and I have set up systems where we get regular text and email alerts connected to our credit cards and bank accounts. Knowing that your personal information can't be fully protected, be as vigilant as possible. Be your own privacy cop. Scrutinize your credit- and debit-card statements. And given the breaches that have happened and will happen, don't trust until you've verified anything and everything anyone says.

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