In light of the Target Stores security breach — the theft of around 40 million credit and debit card records from Target — the National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Action, and U.S. PIRG have issued these tips for consumers about dealing with security breaches. It includes reminders that (1) consumers' liability for unauthorized credit-card and (in many cases) debit-card charges is very limited under federal law; (2) potentially affected consumers should check their credit reports and relevant account statements; (3) consumers should not pay for commercial credit-monitoring and anti-fraud services; and (4) placing a "security freeze" on a credit report is the best medicine against serious harm to the consumer's credit.
