After years of warning people about the dangers of responding to unsolicited e-mail offers

[legcramp]

The geniuses at Target Corp pull this stunt.

Naturally, given the recent news about Target's credit card security woes — and the fact that the "free credit monitoring" messages were sent with return addresses outside the target.com domain and were sent even to customers who hadn't shopped at Target during the period in which the security breach occurred — many recipients were suspicious of those messages and believed they might be part of the same (or another) scheme to compromise credit card numbers. However, although Target perhaps could have found a better way of notifying customers about their offer, company representatives have confirmed that the free credit monitoring messages are legitimate and were indeed sent by Target.

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/targetcredit.asp#mhS1AsBZrjherKfE.99

[Gormy Cuss]

1. I no longer wonder how their system was hacked.

[Wait Wut]

2. I got one of those messages.

I haven't stepped foot in a Target in well over 5 years. Will they give me something free if I lie and say I was there a month ago?

[PeaceNikki]

3. The breach reaches farther than their point-of-sale system.

Other data was compromised - as the email states, your name, address, email address, etc was taken.

If you have ever shopped Target or registered on their web site, you are at risk.

more info: http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/16/news/companies/target-breach-report/

Hackers obtained credit card data for 40 million in-store customers, as well as personal information -- including names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses -- for 70 million customers. Hackers also obtained encrypted PIN numbers for debit cards, the company said.

Credit card data for 40 million plus personal info on 70 million more (although there's likely crossover between the two with some folks on both lists).

You (and I) were one of the 70 million.

[herding cats]

4. If Target ever obtained your name, phone number, address or email

Then they'll give you a year of free credit monitoring. Since they emailed you, it's a safe bet to say they have.

I called target after I got my email today and they told me this could possibly go all they way back to when they first started collecting information like this on customers.

I posted a PSA about what Target told me here earlier. Some hacker in Russia now owns whatever info Target had on you in their database.

[Kurovski]

6. I just saw a citibank ad in Russian here on DU!

Right after I checked my email for the first time in three weeks.

Yes, I shopped online at Target.

Poor Target.

Do I remember correctly when I remember that the Bush admin ignored cyber-crimes whie chasing after porn and peace-niks online? Maybe I exaggerate a bit.

[herding cats]

7. I remember the Bush admin trying to get user search results from Google and others

Claiming it was to see how many of them pointed to porn, using the excuse that it was trying to keep children safe from unwanted porn exposure. I never bought the excuse.

Target has a website where you can go to get your code for the free credit monitoring. I'm not blaming Target for the breach so much as I am the system we have here in the US. We really should be using chip & pin method for the extra layer of security like they use in most of Europe.

[Kurovski]

8. Thanks

I don't blame them either, thus "poor target" We'll see that it affects more than them eventually, as I'm given to understand.

Yes, I'm going to have to sign-up for the service.

I already had one credit card "tested" in NC. The company has shut down the account and is issuing a new card.

[ananda]

5. I don't think Target has my email address.

I probably didn't update it with them. But I did shop there
twice last summer.

I watch my cards' activity every day anyway, and so far
there's been no problem.