Business & Tech

Georgia Target Customers Should Freeze Credit for Protection

The Governor's Office of Consumer Protection says the state has a good credit freeze law for consumer protection.

Georgia has a very good credit freeze law that can protect consumers from identity theft and financial card fraud a spokesman for the Governor's Office of Consumer Protection said after 40 million credit and debit cards were involved in a security breach at Target.

 "In general we should probably all be taking advantage of this law irregardless of this security breach," said Shawn Conroy in the wake of Target's announcement. "It's a great way to protect yourself from identity theft."

Conroy said a credit freeze may not prevent a rogue charge from appearing on a Gerogia resident's credit card statement, but it is a great tool.

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BBB Offers Suggestions to Target Customers Following Data Breach

"Of course we all want to monitor our accounts. I try to monitor my account daily," he said. That's easy to do when you have access to your accounts online.

Changing pin numbers is advised when there is a security breach, he said, especially if you have a debit card.

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Conroy said it costs a few dollars to put a freeze on your credit unless you are age 65 and up or are a victim of fraud. The freeze locks your account, not allowing anyone to open it without you unfreezing it.

The threat to your credit isn't over if no fraudulent activity occurs in the immediate future.

"It may be months, it could be years before your information is used for some purpose other than you would like it to be used," Conroy said.

Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel called the unauthorized access to payment card data from U.S. Target stores as "a crime against Target, our team members and most importantly you - our valued guest."

In his message to Target customers on Dec. 20, Steinhafel offered the following information regarding the security breach:

“Yesterday we shared that there was unauthorized access to payment card data at our U.S. stores. The issue has been identified and eliminated," Steinhafel said.

Target is offering a 10 percent discount to customers this weekend in response to the theft of card and debit card payment data theft.

"We’re in this together, and in that spirit, we are extending a 10% discount – the same amount our team members receive – to guests who shop in U.S. stores on Dec. 21 and 22," the Target CEO said.


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