On September 8, 2014, home improvement retailer The Home Depot confirmed that its payment data systems were breached. This could potentially impact customers who used payment cards at the store, including Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) debit cards, from April 2014 through August 2014.
Home Depot has announced that impacted customers will not be held accountable for any fraudulent charges to their accounts.
“The UIA is concerned about this incident,” said Sharon Moffett-Massey, director of the Unemployment Insurance Agency. “We’re encouraging our customers who may have been affected to monitor their debit card accounts closely and visit the Home Depot website at http://www.homedepot.com/ for more information.”
Some unemployment insurance claimants receive their benefits via debit cards. Prior to June 2, 2014, UIA debit cards were issued by Chase. Since June 2, UIA debit cards are issued by Bank of America. Cardholders are encouraged to monitor their debit card accounts and report any unusual activity to the issuing bank. It is estimated that 300 to 500 UIA debit card holders could have been impacted by the Home Depot security incident.
For information on ways to reduce the risk of identity theft, visit the Michigan Department of Attorney General’s “Identity Theft Information for Michigan Consumers” website at this address: www.michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-164-17337_20942-230557–,00.html and visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Privacy and Identity webpage at www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/privacy-identity.
Source: LARA
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