Home Depot Security Breach

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Shine
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by Shine »

I quit providing any personal information several years ago. Retailers would request one's postal code,or sometimes one's phone number.

Originally I would provide false information but then I just got tired of the dance - the retailer from which I am purchasing a pair of jeans needs nothing other than my cash or, hopefully secure, card transaction.

Reward and loyalty cards, as well we all know, are nothing but data mining and personal tracking schemes.
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Arby
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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qasimodo wrote: ...Equifax will automatically renew the service (at full price) after the 12 month free period. So set yourself a reminder to cancel in a 11.5 months
I just completed the Equifax online application for the credit monitoring service. After you enter the Home Deport redemption code, there is no requirement to provide your credit card number, and the Equifax service will NOT automatically renew, as per the following info during the registration process:
Disregard any reference to pricing during your order. There is no charge for this product.
Normally this product requires a credit card to enroll. DO NOT ENTER YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER. Your order will be processed with the entry of a valid redemption code only.
The redemption code will provide you the product free of charge for the next 12 months. This product will not automatically renew.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by qasimodo »

Arby wrote:
qasimodo wrote: ...Equifax will automatically renew the service (at full price) after the 12 month free period. So set yourself a reminder to cancel in a 11.5 months
I just completed the Equifax online application for the credit monitoring service. After you enter the Home Deport redemption code, there is no requirement to provide your credit card number, and the Equifax service will NOT automatically renew, as per the following info during the registration process:
Disregard any reference to pricing during your order. There is no charge for this product.
Normally this product requires a credit card to enroll. DO NOT ENTER YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER. Your order will be processed with the entry of a valid redemption code only.
The redemption code will provide you the product free of charge for the next 12 months. This product will not automatically renew.

They are improving.

When I called they asked my name and gave me a promo-code and url.
A few days later, when my wife called they read her a full script of clarifications / explanations and gave her a different url

It seems they are continuing to refine the process and now (amongst other things) have removed their "automatic renewal"
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AltaRed
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by AltaRed »

Based on the latest, I signed up today. The process is pretty simple....though finding someone at Equifax who speaks understandable in English can be difficult.
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Koogie
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by Koogie »

For anyone who might be on the fence about doing this, I signed up today and it was an entirely online and automated process and pretty easy (no linguistically challenged call centre was required). Just be sure not to enter your SIN or any credit card details and you get 12 months of Equifax for free...

I hit the link kindly provided above and sent away by email for the code for Canadian customers and HD send back the following email (edited for privacy):

==================

Dear "Colonel Runaway",

The Home Depot is truly sorry for any inconvenience caused by this incident and is committed to taking steps to protect your payment card information.
You have requested Equifax Complete Premier Plan protection services, including credit monitoring and an identity theft insurance policy. To register for 12 months of free service, you will need to follow the instructions detailed below.

Step 1: go to: http://www.consumer.equifax.ca/thd
Step 2: Complete the customer information form with your personal information such as name and address. Please note that your SIN is optional. Click “Next”.
Step 3: Create an account by entering your e-mail address and creating a user name and password along with selecting your security question in case you forget your user ID and/or password. In the “Payment Type” section you will enter your 12 digit redemption code provided below. DO NOT ENTER ANY CREDIT CARD INFORMATION

Your redemption code is: XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ensure you read the terms of use and click “Accept and Continue”.

Step 4: The next section will ask you to answer a series (4 to 6) of authentication questions prior to activating your account.

Should you have any issues with the registration, please call our toll free number 866-820-8945
We are truly sorry for any concern caused by this incident.
Sincerely,
The Home Depot
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by HardWorker »

I signed up as well, and it was pretty painless and automated. It's worth the couple of minutes it takes to verify your info and sign up. I'd certainly not renew the service, but free is good. I'll check back once in a while to see how my credit score is doing as I'm surprised it went down 40 whole points over the last 2 years. I applied for a new mortgage, 2 fuel suppliers, and 1 cell provider. I still don't fully understand all the aspects of credit scoring, and it doesn't really matter because even with the recent hits I'm just under 800, but I was really surprised how many points you loose between the combination of a mortgage and 4 credit inquires.

I didn't provide a credit card or social insurance number when filling out the application, and it said it won't auto renew. None the less, we should update this thread around Sept 1st of 2015 as a reminder to cancel the service.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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All this smelled fishy to me, so I did it from a shared computer.

On the HD page that provides you with the redemption code, it states "the information captured in this sign up process will not be used for any purpose other than providing you with protection". However, that page runs a suite of google tracking scripts.

So, HD already has your name and credit card number. By signing up at that page, they have now uniquely associated your computer to you (assuming you are running, for example, Adobe Reader, or other such 'hidden' tracking products). And as a bonus, they now also have your email address.

Or if you are in Canada, they now have also tied your phone number to your computer (assuming that the kind folks from EquiFax offered to walk you through the signup process).

Now if you actually go & use that code, they have now associated you, your computer, & your financial history. So in one neat scoop, HD & google now has a bunch of information that they didn't have before. All for the cost of a few dollars that they pay EquiFax or the U.S. equivalent. Pretty neat.

I would gladly sell my personal information, but not for a few dollars.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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Benchwarmer wrote:Now if you actually go & use that code, they have now associated you, your computer, & your financial history. So in one neat scoop, HD & google now has a bunch of information that they didn't have before. All for the cost of a few dollars that they pay EquiFax or the U.S. equivalent. Pretty neat.
But of course! Why didn't I think of this before? Google & Home Depot are hidden agents of ISIS, who will decapitate every one of their users / customers, but not before they have emptied all infidels' bank accounts. It all makes sense now...
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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Benchwarmer wrote:Pretty neat.
Pretty paranoid.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by qasimodo »

Benchwarmer wrote: On the HD page that provides you with the redemption code,
Which page is that?

(all the HD pages I saw were only informational. I got the promotion code over the phone. I signed up on an Equifax page using the promo-code)
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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qasimodo wrote:
Benchwarmer wrote: On the HD page that provides you with the redemption code,
Which page is that?

(all the HD pages I saw were only informational. I got the promotion code over the phone. I signed up on an Equifax page using the promo-code)
Exactly, and insteaf of using it, you could give that code to your spouse, neighbour, or anyone else you like.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by Benchwarmer »

qasimodo wrote:
Benchwarmer wrote: On the HD page that provides you with the redemption code,
Which page is that?

(all the HD pages I saw were only informational. I got the promotion code over the phone. I signed up on an Equifax page using the promo-code)
I am not completely sure about this, but I believe the code is tied to the name, so for example you cannot give it to your neighbor to use (unless he has the same name as you). But regardless, it is not important ...

The tracking scripts are on the page where you got the phone number from, and where Americans do their on-line submission. Americans don't have the phone option, so in order to get the code, they effectively have to reveal their name, the unique identifier of their computer, & the email address. All of that info are easily linked to the credit card on file in HD's database.

Whether you get the code via phone or computer, you cannot escape the linkage between person - computer or phone - credit file. My guess is that no one currently has that linkage for a large portion of the population, so it is a credit to HD/google's entrepreneurial spirit that they can get it for the cost of just a few dollars.

This may proof to be such a winning strategy that we will see more announcements of security breaches, and more offers of free credit monitoring. And my bet is that every single one of the pages where you get the free monitoring, will have tracking scripts.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by HardWorker »

A bit paranoid for sure Benchwarmer, but nothing is out of the realm of possibility.

Do I really care that HD will know how many nails, 2x4s, or bags of salt I bought last year? Not really. Would I be rather outraged if Equifax sold my info to HD? Absolutely.

And as I suspected, there really is no verification on HD's part. I emailed on behalf of my wife, who never buys anything from HD, and they sent her a code as well.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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HardWorker wrote:I still don't fully understand all the aspects of credit scoring, and it doesn't really matter because even with the recent hits I'm just under 800, but I was really surprised how many points you loose between the combination of a mortgage and 4 credit inquires.
I don't understand it either but it can't be all that relevant. My current score is 815 and that probably is down from pre-2012 for sure (took out a HELOC in 2012 to provide bridge financing if I needed it between purchase of current home and sale of former, and 3 new credit cards in 2013 (and cancellation of one of those 3 within 2 months when I found out PFC would not allow auto debit payments from a non-PCF bank account).
I didn't provide a credit card or social insurance number when filling out the application, and it said it won't auto renew. None the less, we should update this thread around Sept 1st of 2015 as a reminder to cancel the service.
Neither did I. I don't think we will forget about this next year because those of us who signed up will no doubt get an email solicitation asking us to renew. Because hackers will know there is no auto renew and perhaps sit on the hacked data until after that point, for the price of renewal, I may renew for at least one additional year.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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HardWorker wrote: I emailed on behalf of my wife, who never buys anything from HD, and they sent her a code as well.
You both signed up?
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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Insomniac wrote:
HardWorker wrote: I emailed on behalf of my wife, who never buys anything from HD, and they sent her a code as well.
You both signed up?
If she has used her own (not joint) credit or debit card, or she is the primary applicant on a joint card, then yes that would be necessary.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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Insomniac wrote:
HardWorker wrote: I emailed on behalf of my wife, who never buys anything from HD, and they sent her a code as well.
You both signed up?

Not yet, but I got the email with her code. And I stand corrected, there is one notable time that she does a lot of shopping at HD. Spring, when she always overloads her car with HD's garden section. She buys a lot of plants that I can't even pronounce, mistake them for weed, run them over with the mower and get yelled at. And she uses her own card, we don't have a joint card.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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AltaRed wrote: I don't understand it either but it can't be all that relevant. My current score is 815 and that probably is down from pre-2012 for sure (took out a HELOC in 2012 to provide bridge financing if I needed it between purchase of current home and sale of former, and 3 new credit cards in 2013 (and cancellation of one of those 3 within 2 months when I found out PFC would not allow auto debit payments from a non-PCF bank account).
It's annoying that a mortgage and HELOC will put a hit on your credit score, but it won't help improve your score if you're making on time payments. I'm sure if you start missing payments then they'll start reporting you. But like you said, I think after a certain range it doesn't really matter. Maybe if you were requesting a very large sum of money, then they might differentiate between a score of 800 or 830.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by AltaRed »

HardWorker wrote:Maybe if you were requesting a very large sum of money, then they might differentiate between a score of 800 or 830.
Don't know and it really doesn't matter to me since I have no real need to borrow money. It will be more interesting how my score might change in a year's time (assuming no more credit activity since mid-2013).
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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I turn out to have a credit score around 680, while my spouse has close to 800 (never looked up our scores before). I have no late payments of any kind but the algorithm really doesn't seem to like my activities. Odds of default in some form are 5% for scores around 680, 1% for scores around 800, according to Equifax. Somewhat disturbing business. Maybe this explains why Chase refuses to give me a Marriott card :)
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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What does one have to do to increase your credit score? (821)
I have no debt, charge most every thing I buy to a credit card and pay the balance each month.
CCs are Visa, US Visa, Costco Amex, & a Credit Union MC (for health care insurance to 75)
Would probably be considered high risk if I did want to borrow as my income is mainly from investing.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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Do you have 821 or you want 821? Equifax says these three items affect my score, the first the most, the third the last:

Number of inquiries in previous 12 months.
Percent of national credit cards trades opened within the last 2 years.
Total balance for open national card trades.

I don't think your income factors in this at all, which is probably why banks don't rely on these scores, or not solely. Simply don't apply for credit or anything that gives a credit enquiry, don't open new cards, and have a very low utilization rate or balance. I'm not sure what the third line means exactly, seems to suggest an absolute balance rather than a rate. I don't know how they calculate that if you pay your cards off all the time. I think it wouldn't be zero. My balance is about $40k but I only have a real balance of about $28k that I'm not paying off, the rest must come from monthly balances that will be paid off in full.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

Post by Bylo Selhi »

deaddog wrote:What does one have to do to increase your credit score? (821)
What's wrong with 821 (or 815 or any score over 800)?

You're a 1%er. Creditors love you.
I have no debt
Unless you're planning to apply for a sizable loan why do you care if your score is "only" 821?
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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No I do not care. I was just curious.
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Re: Home Depot Security Breach

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OK, I signed both of us up. It looks to me that it WILL automatically renew at $15.95 per month next year. Don't know how that works as I didn’t give them a credit card # :?

I scored 785 and my wife is 822. You can see who the big spender is in the family!
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