Politics & Government

Target Offers Free Credit Monitoring as Congressional Democrats Request Investigation

An estimated 110 million customers had their credit card information hacked as the result of a data breach.

As a group of Congressional Democrats calls for an investigation into a massive data breach at Target, New Jersey's Attorney General is advising residents in the state to take advantage of a free credit monitoring program being offered by the retail giant.

Following a recent data breach in which credit card data belonging to millions of customers was hacked, Target is offering one year of free credit monitoring.

Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman urged all New Jersey residents to take advantage of the offer, whether they suspect they have been hacked or not.

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“We strongly encourage all Target customers to take advantage of this offer, regardless of whether they have identified suspicious activity in their personal accounts,” Hoffman said in a statement issued Tuesday morning.  “In addition, any Target customers who have not already done so should change their PIN numbers and passwords as a proactive measure. We are working to ensure New Jersey consumers receive all the tools they need to protect themselves against identity theft.”

Customers who shopped at Target in the past may have had their credit card information stolen, including their names, card numbers, expiration dates, security codes and PIN numbers. It was previously believed the breach occurred recently, but it is now believed that is not the case, and as many as 110 million customers may have had their information stolen.

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On Monday, Democratic members of the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives called for a committee hearing to discuss the breach.

The credit monitoring service will be offered through Experian’s ProtectMyID. It provides daily copies of credit reports, daily credit monitoring, identity theft insurance (except where prohibited by law) and access to personalized assistance from a fraud resolution agent.

Customers can register for free credit monitoring by visiting creditmonitoring.target.com. After entering their name and email address, customers receive an email that contains a unique activation code from Target within five days.

The email also continues instructions on how to register with ProtectMyID, and customers will have until April 30 to register. Email addresses collected during this process will only be used for this process, according to Target.

Consumers with questions are encouraged to visit target.com/databreach or to contact Target directly at 866-852-8680.



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