Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, December 27, 2013
Target Credit Card Breach May Affect 121K in Hawaii
By News Release @ 9:22 PM :: 4757 Views :: Law Enforcement

Target Believes 121,000 Hawaii Shoppers Affected by Data Breach

Consumer Protector Urges Shoppers to Check Accounts

News Release from DCCA December 27, 2013

HONOLULU — The Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) Executive Director Bruce Kim today informed the public that the Target data breach appears to have affected as many as 121,000 Hawaii shoppers.

Target informed the public earlier this month that about 40 million credit and debit accounts were compromised in a data breach at its stores across the country by computer hackers on purchases made at company stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013.

Target officials on Friday also confirmed on its website that the hackers were able to access some of the personal identification numbers (PIN) from the ATM cards used in its stores.

Businesses are required by Hawaii law to notify customers of any security breach involving personal information in any form following discovery of the breach. Hawaii law also requires businesses to notify the Office of Consumer Protection about the breach without unreasonable delay as well as information on the timing, distribution and content of the notices sent by the business to affected persons.

“We are working with Target to ensure that consumers are not held liable for fraudulent purchases,” Kim said. “Hawaii consumers who shopped at Target should take precautions to prevent their accounts from being used by monitoring their bank and credit card statements and reporting suspicious activities to their bank or card company. Keep your guard up for the next year because it may take time for any fraudulent transactions to appear.”

Many of the banks and credit unions in the islands have been on alert since the news of the breach.

Target has agreed to free credit report monitoring for one year for all cardholders affected by the breach.

If you believe that you have been a victim of identity theft, the following may be of help:

Identity Theft Warning Signs

  • Unauthorized charges on your credit card
  • Receiving credit cards that you did not seek
  • Missing credit card bills
  • Calls or letters from debt collectors or businesses about merchandise you did not buy or services you did not authorize
  • Being denied credit or offered credit at less favorable terms for no apparent reason
  • Unauthorized credit cards or charges on your credit report

Tips on Protecting Yourself Following a Security Breach

  • Contact your creditors, including credit card companies, banks, and other lenders, to determine whether there is any suspicious or unauthorized activity that has occurred on your accounts.
  • Place an initial fraud alert on your credit report. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report. Order it and review it for problems.
  • Contact any of the three consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert does not block potential new credit, but places a comment on your history. Creditors should contact you prior to opening a new account. You only need to contact one of the three companies because that company is required to contact the other two. Once you place a fraud alert on your file, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report. The credit reporting agencies will send you a letter telling you how to order your free report. When you receive your credit reports, review them carefully and look for any suspicious activity.
  • Be alert. It’s especially important in the first year following a security breach notification.

All consumers can obtain a free annual credit report from each of the three major credit-reporting agencies, regardless of whether they have been identity theft victims. Call 1-877-322-8228 or request one online at www.annualcreditreport.com.  You can request a report from one of the reporting companies every four months and carefully review this report for suspicious activity.

Credit Reporting Agencies:

  • Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
  • Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
  • TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

As the consumer counsel for the state, the Office of Consumer Protection is the primary agency responsible for reviewing, investigating and prosecuting allegations of unfair or deceptive trade practices in consumer transactions.

# # #

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii