Morrisey urges Target shoppers to use free credit monitoring

CHARLESTON -- West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is urging consumers to enroll for free credit monitoring services if they shopped at Target and fear their personal information was compromised.

Last week, Target sent emails to consumers offering one year of free credit monitoring, in addition to identity theft insurance where available. Target's offer include a free copy of a consumer's credit report so he or she can review balances, transactions and accounts. Target provided the offer to consumers who were impacted by the security breach and consumers who previously shopped at its stores.

“Target is making this service available to every customer who has shopped in a store in the United States,” Morrisey said. “This service will help customers, even those who were not affected by the Christmas season security breach, to ensure their identities are protected. West Virginians who have shopped with the company should take advantage of this offer.”

In December, Target announced a data breach impacting approximately 40 million consumers who shopped at the company's U.S. retail stores between November 27 and December 15 and used a debit or credit card to make a purchase. The company later said that approximately 70 million other consumers may have had their personal information compromised even if the consumer did not make a purchase during the holiday shopping season.

“It has been deeply troubling to see how many people have been impacted by this data breach,” Morrisey said.

Consumers may register for the credit monitoring by April 23. Morrisey said consumers should continue to monitor their credit and debit card statements regularly for unauthorized activity.