NEPA ~ Off Topic ~ Chatting Thread ( New ) (condos, buses, required)

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

If you are not doing this already check what option your bank has for email alerts, for example I get alerted for any withdrawls or CC transactions for over $XX.XX. You can set it for any amount you want.

That sounds like reasonable advice. I do have one question about this Target mess. We are dinosaurs; we did recently pay Target by check (we don't have one of their credit cards). Target does the electronic deductions directly from our checking account. Is there any chance that the hackers also got this information as well as the credit card information? Possibly I should ask our bank to give us e-mail notification?

[thecoalman]

Good question Fisheye and until Target makes a statement on what happened it's anyone's guess.

[jimazee]

I doubt that 'fraud detection' software and check handling processes are capable/geared to detect patterns of potential abuse as with CCs. Maybe there is something. Your bank might know, but likely either not or won't say much anyway. Obviously if you use online banking tools, it would be good to keep a close eye until you figure this out.

Here is a thread on another C-D forum (beyond NEPA) with some info. It is another place to monitor and post queries.

//www.city-data.com/forum/perso...ed-target.html

My guess is that you are OK.

[fisheye]

From everything that we read and see it is very costly and time consuming to try to clean up the mess created by ID thieves. It can take years and some people never recover.

Any store, including Target, has to do everything in their power to thwart and prosecute identity thieves. I saw that many speculate that this particular theft was at a particularly bad time for Target - they were competing for their share of the Xmas sales. An extremely large breach, like this one, will cost Target consumer trust. I can easily picture how Target will take years to regain our confidence - if they cannot quickly find the culprits and secure our information (if that is possible). Time will tell - but it is not on Target's side.

ID theft is so rampant today that it could bring down our whole system. Isn't it time that we came up with a more secure system? I know that nothing is perfect and that it doesn't take long for somebody to beat the system. But why don't we all have a secure picture ID? I go to may bank and they ask me for my ID - but why isn't my picture/finger print/eye scan already on my account? Surely we can do better.

[jimazee]

Originally Posted by fisheye

From everything that we read and see it is very costly and time consuming to try to clean up the mess created by ID thieves. It can take years and some people never recover.

Any store, including Target, has to do everything in their power to thwart and prosecute identity thieves. I saw that many speculate that this particular theft was at a particularly bad time for Target - they were competing for their share of the Xmas sales. An extremely large breach, like this one, will cost Target consumer trust. I can easily picture how Target will take years to regain our confidence - if they cannot quickly find the culprits and secure our information (if that is possible). Time will tell - but it is not on Target's side.

ID theft is so rampant today that it could bring down our whole system. Isn't it time that we came up with a more secure system? I know that nothing is perfect and that it doesn't take long for somebody to beat the system. But why don't we all have a secure picture ID? I go to may bank and they ask me for my ID - but why isn't my picture/finger print/eye scan already on my account? Surely we can do better.

I agree Fisheye. It is ridiculous that many of these guys/gals aren't caught and severly prosecuted. I think some of the problem is the international nature of the 'net...many tech thieves are out of the USA, and those governments may not be as interested in catching them, especially if they prey on USA $$$. But that is only one dimension of 'the problem'.

It seems that it should be possible to 'catch' them when/after they use the cards or sell the info to others who do...but some of these guys/gals are pretty smart and have ways to evolve their techniques too. The 'net only helps them exchange info, test approaches, practice their wares.

Detection and prosecution will probably continue to improve but in the end it is sorta like government spending...banks and financial institutions plan for losses and recover by raising 'taxes' or service charges...it is always 'customers' who pay in the end. Only when the costs to institutions is more than they can carry/bear do they get 'real' serious.

"Someday" they'll get it all tightened up enough....maybe

(BTW, ID theft can be very punishing to victims in many ways, and as other 'net/CC etc. frauds, very rewarding to the perpetrators. Current tech enthralled culture, 'social networking', little regard for personal data/privacy all make it an open market. )

This is hardly a NEPA topic -- just search on 'ID theft' and read forever.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by jimazee

This is hardly a NEPA topic -- just search on 'ID theft' and read forever.

Your right - but we do have several local Target stores. So it could effect us locally. Any ID theft, in our area, is area news. If the hackers would single out our area; we would want to know. We want to know about any scams or fraud.

I just feel that we should take further steps to eliminate this fraud. I don't know why our department stores do not have our picture in their system and visible at checkout to the clerks. We talk about security and we talk about how bad this is and then we don't do anything to stop it.

I feel the same way with the copper theft in our area. The thieves are selling it someplace and we hardly every hear of anybody being convicted. It would seem pretty easy to stop or apprehend the culprits - but nobody is taking the first steps. Copper thieves can do tens of thousands of dollars damage to a home - not to mention that they violate the sanctity of your castle.

[jimazee]

Originally Posted by fisheye

Your right - but we do have several local Target stores. So it could effect us locally. Any ID theft, in our area, is area news. If the hackers would single out our area; we would want to know. We want to know about any scams or fraud.

I just feel that we should take further steps to eliminate this fraud. I don't know why our department stores do not have our picture in their system and visible at checkout to the clerks. We talk about security and we talk about how bad this is and then we don't do anything to stop it.

I feel the same way with the copper theft in our area. The thieves are selling it someplace and we hardly every hear of anybody being convicted. It would seem pretty easy to stop or apprehend the culprits - but nobody is taking the first steps. Copper thieves can do tens of thousands of dollars damage to a home - not to mention that they violate the sanctity of your castle.

Sounds like it likely will affect some locals, depending on how the stolen info is used. I don't think this will be as much an ID theft incident as much as a 'simple' CC theft/use. Not that that isn't a hassle, but not anywhere near as bad as ID theft.

[Magritte25]

Our bank called yesterday. They are cancelling and reissuing my card. I never shop at Target but I was desperate and look what happens. LOL I'm glad the bank is being proactive about it.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Our bank called yesterday. They are cancelling and reissuing my card. I never shop at Target but I was desperate and look what happens. LOL I'm glad the bank is being proactive about it.

Hope everybody had a wonderful Xmas!

I did find this one article on the Target ID theft: Target data breach: Will credit monitoring help prevent identity theft? - National Identity Theft | Examiner.com. It has many links to everything from Target's official response home page to what is happening right now. I see that several people have already filled federal law suits because of ID theft - they claim that Target did not do enough to protect their identity. There are other scams that are spinning off the original ID theft. Also; we still do not know the particulars of this theft - it is still under investigation.

Hope you did not have too many problems getting your new card right before Xmas? That was one of the concerns that I read about.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by fisheye

Hope everybody had a wonderful Xmas!

I did find this one article on the Target ID theft: Target data breach: Will credit monitoring help prevent identity theft? - National Identity Theft | Examiner.com. It has many links to everything from Target's official response home page to what is happening right now. I see that several people have already filled federal law suits because of ID theft - they claim that Target did not do enough to protect their identity. There are other scams that are spinning off the original ID theft. Also; we still do not know the particulars of this theft - it is still under investigation.

Hope you did not have too many problems getting your new card right before Xmas? That was one of the concerns that I read about.

I didn't get my card yet. But I don't live too far from the bank so I can just take cash out as I need it. As a matter of fact, this whole debacle has made me think over the idea of using cash more often.