Home Depot’s Free Identity Protection Offer

[Bikerdude]

I still have a few months of free monitoring from Target so I guess I'll wait to sign up for the HD plan.

[cranberryjoe]

Yesterday somebody attempted a charge using one of my credit card account I used at HD. Citi called me to check if it was me. Nope - card was compromised, so they canceled it and are sending me a new one. Today I got my first AllClear report saying no fraudulent activity has been detected. I will be awaiting next month's AllClear report to see if it shows this incident. If it's not there, I will wonder what good AllClear is.

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cranberryjoe I will be awaiting next month's AllClear report to see if it shows this incident. If it's not there, I will wonder what good AllClear is.

Do let us know how it turns out. I, too, used a Capital One card -- and it was a single purchase for around $7.00.

[target2019]

When I signed up for the free ID Fraud Detection mentioned above, I did not need to enter any shopping details at the HD site. I typed in name and email, and received a code through email to enter with AllClear. I believe they confirmed my purchase through their records. Or better, maybe they searched the stolen data on a Russian hacker site (tongue in cheek comment).

From the email quoted, it sounds like the service is using some intelligence gathering techniques, sifting through various data sources, looking for bits of compromised data. This sounds good, but remains to be seen how effective it is.

I'd like to see the credit bureau entities come forward with a plan that really does protect my identity and credit. Knowing that will not happen, I expect there will be a massive upset to the systems brought about by compromised security. Then there will be outrage, calls for action, years of debate, and a minor update to regulations.

I know we won't be shopping HD or Target for quite a while. We have other options, but eventually I suspect every retailer or one of their partners will fail the security test.

[Sunset]

I'm also cautious about checking my financial accounts when travelling, but since I put email alerts on my accounts including credit cards, I feel much safer.
Now when I buy something online, I often get a CC email reporting the purchase before the online store sends me a receipt.
Now just looking at my emails will tell me if someone used my CC for a purchase, at which point I could phone the CC company.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KB I found a fraudulent charge on my Visa last week while on vacation in Ireland. By the time I messaged my credit union, they had already cancelled my Visa and issued another one, eliminating the fraudulent charge. Apparently they cancelled all credit cards identified in the Home Depot situation and cancelled them. I do not usually check my accounts while traveling since the wifi is not secure, but this time I did. Lucky thing. Unfortunately this is the 4th or 5th time this has happened in the past 10 years or so. I signed up for the free fraud protection also. After the first credit card compromise I started checking my credit card transactions daily so I usually catch the fraud when the charged are still pending and not actual transactions. I always take 2 credit cards and an ATM card with me when I travel out of the country too and this is the second time it has happened while traveling. I'm still waiting for the new card to arrive too.

[Al in Ohio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 When I signed up for the free ID Fraud Detection mentioned above, I did not need to enter any shopping details at the HD site. I typed in name and email, and received a code through email to enter with AllClear. I believe they confirmed my purchase through their records. Or better, maybe they searched the stolen data on a Russian hacker site (tongue in cheek comment). From the email quoted, it sounds like the service is using some intelligence gathering techniques, sifting through various data sources, looking for bits of compromised data. This sounds good, but remains to be seen how effective it is. I'd like to see the credit bureau entities come forward with a plan that really does protect my identity and credit. Knowing that will not happen, I expect there will be a massive upset to the systems brought about by compromised security. Then there will be outrage, calls for action, years of debate, and a minor update to regulations. I know we won't be shopping HD or Target for quite a while. We have other options, but eventually I suspect every retailer or one of their partners will fail the security test.

I just went to their website yesterday and signed up having the same experience. They emailed me a code for the one year protection and I'm all set. I also went to the free annual credit report website and printed out both Experian and one of the other ones to review and file.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

[lynxville]

Just got an email from my credit card company and they said they were issuing me a new card, because of the Hd theft.

[jonc]

I reduced the number of places I swipe my debit card because big data is a rapidly growing industry and math majors have never been more commercially desirable.

The side effect is that I reduce point of sale information that HD lost to ID theft criminals.

Why did I reduce my debit card usage?

How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did - Forbes

After I read the above article, I decided to start using cash where ever possible. Since I rarely make 3 or 4 figure purchases, cash works for me.

I have a friend working for a big data analytic start-up. It's amazing what one may learn about a person from their spending habits and the accuracy rate.

I recently heard a news report about banks selling data to health care providers so your doctor might know if you start or stop buying cigarettes or booze.

Keeping your ID safe and keeping your privacy are really closely related in my mind.
-Jon

[cranberryjoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset I'm also cautious about checking my financial accounts when travelling, but since I put email alerts on my accounts including credit cards, I feel much safer. Now when I buy something online, I often get a CC email reporting the purchase before the online store sends me a receipt. Now just looking at my emails will tell me if someone used my CC for a purchase, at which point I could phone the CC company.

After the Target hack I logged in to all my CC accounts (I have lots of them) and setup email alerts. Unfortunately, some of them only send you an alert if the charge exceeds $20. The "test" charge some criminal attempted on my HD-exposed card was for about $11, so if the CC company had not immediately detected it as suspicious it would have been up to me to discover it later. I download all my CC transactions into MoneyDance every few days, so I would have found it before the next statement.

Some CC's send email alerts within minutes of a charge, others send them the next day.