RICHARDSON, Texas, Jan. 14, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Institution Solutions ( isillc.com ) has issued a comprehensive white paper entitled Target Corporation Data Breach: Repercussions for Credit Unions, Helping Members with Issues of Fraud available for viewing and download here . The ISI white paper, by Paul Clampitt, President and CEO of ISI, details the enormity of the Target and Neiman Marcus data breaches as well as the potential consequences for credit unions, other merchants and consumers.
"ISI has received a significant number of calls from credit unions and community banks asking how they can mitigate the fallout from the Target debacle and how to protect themselves in the future," said Clampitt. "Institution Solutions has provided solutions to problems of this nature since 1996. ISI provides breach solutions for credit unions and identity theft resolution services for their members. One of ISI's strengths is crafting custom protection programs for specific industries, even individual institutions," Clampitt stated.
Service programs offered by ISI that are applicable to a data breach include:
- Privacy TouchPoint Service : a personal identity management and fraud resolution program for members and their families
- Incident Response Service: an integrated business response to a breach of sensitive information
- Merchant Chargeback Advocacy: services for the merchant retailer to process and reduce the incidence of chargebacks and transaction fraud
Clampitt offers the following suggestions for concerned cardholders trying to confront the issue:
1) Monitor your accounts daily from a secured internet connection. Daily, log into your accounts and review your balances and account activity. If there are errors or suspicious transactions, immediately contact your credit union, bank or credit card issuer.
2) Change your passwords for online financial accounts. Use a password that is not easily guessed or is based on your children's names, mother's maiden name, or family birthdates.
3) Cancel and replace your credit and/or debit cards. Ask your bank or credit card issuer to cancel any card used at Target and to issue a new card. If you used a debit card at Target, change the PIN number on your card.
4) Talk with your financial institutions about setting transaction dollar limits on your cards. Ask that an alert be issued to you if a transaction exceeds the dollar limit. Review the alerts.
5) Consider placing a security freeze on your credit files. A credit file security freeze will keep the credit bureaus from issuing your credit report without your express consent. This will prohibit a cybercriminal from opening a new credit account using the information obtained from the Target breach, but only if the new account provider checks the credit file.
6) Be vigilant in monitoring e-mails. Don't respond to an email that appears to be from your financial institution without first contacting your financial institution. Phishing e-mails are common after breaches, and criminals use these phishing e-mails to attempt to gain additional information from consumers.
"It is unfortunate when an event of this nature happens. The goal of ISI is to provide innovative solutions and risk mitigation for these type of problems," Clampitt said.
About Institution Solutions
Institution Solutions Inc., LLC (ISI) of Richardson, Texas administers association, affinity and group insurance programs for credit unions and group carriers. Organized in 1996 and led by Paul Clampitt (sole Principal), ISI holds endorsements with more than 550 national and/or regional credit unions, giving ISI the authority to market and administer insurance programs for their membership. Institution Solutions makes available to credit unions a suite of highly sophisticated, enterprise-level fraud solutions.
Paul Clampitt
Paul Clampitt is the Chief Executive Officer of Institution Solutions, a company he founded in 1996. Since then, Paul has been steward over an impressive period of growth and achievement, making his company one of the leading third-party administrators of insurance products in the affinity market space. Prior to leading Institution Solutions, Paul was President and CEO of the brokerage firm Financial Fitness. He attended the Southwest CUNA Management School at the University of Houston and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Paul is a Board Member for the Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA) and a frequent speaker at industry conferences, most recently PIMA's 2013 Affinity Summit.
Michael Arbini, Communications Director 866-532-8836
