Over 40 Million Credit and Debit Card Numbers Stolen – Now What?
Everybody knows there is a potential to have their identity stolen, but if your like me, you just think it will happen to somebody else. Well, think again. The United States Justice Department on August 5, charged 11 individuals for hacking more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers from nine major retailers.
In what appears to be the largest identity theft case in history, should put consumers on a full time statement watch. Customers of nine major retailers including: DSW Inc, Forever 21, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Dave and Busters, Boston Market, Office Max, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and TJX Cos could all be potential victims.
The 11 charged supposedly hacked into the wireless networks of the large retailers and used “sniffer” programs to help them steal credit and debit card numbers of previous customers. They would then withdrawal thousands of dollars from ATMs. They also sold some of the credit and debit cards numbers over the Internet, which could potentially result in more money out of our accounts. Just because the fraudsters appear to be caught, doesn’t mean your safe.
How Can You Protect Yourself?
Unfortunately, this type of thing will continue to remain a threat against consumers because of the electronic nature of our spending habits. In the near future we will release our tips for protecting your identity with insider insight from Scott Mitic, CEO and Founder of Trusted ID, a company that provides consumers with the power and resources to manage and protect their credit and personal information, and who has access to that information.
Don’t become one of the 40 million:
- Read all you statements carefully. This includes cards you do not use very often.
- Look for suspicious purchases you do not recognize.
- Dispute your charges. If there is a purchase or withdrawal you did not make, call the 800 number on the back of your credit card and report it. More than likely, you will not be charged for the purchase and this will alert them to future purchases. $
Related articles you might be interested in:
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader or email.
Comments
I agree with you. It’s unfortunate that it takes panic to get people to take necessary precautions. In reality, protecting your identity is about being careful.
[...] 9. MilkYourMoney presents Over 40 Million Credit and Debit Card Numbers Stolen – Now What? [...]
I agree with reading your statements carefully. Some people take this for granted and react only when a significant amount has been charged to them. You have to understand what your credit card statement is all about. Know what each item means. Learn how to compute charges so you can easily detect any malicious items in your statement.
What now? Now everyone panics and gets a bunch of trustedids and credit bureaus get swamped with calls from people screaming “what the hell are you doing with my money?!?!”
And for once, a security panic may well lead to a good thing, since the best way to prevent ID theft is to be careful with your data, as far too many people are not.