Sometimes thieves will process a small debit or charge against your account and return to take more from your bank account or add more charges to your credit card if the first smaller debit or charge goes through. If your provider offers it, consider signing up for email or text alerts.

If you receive paper statements, be sure to open them and review them closely. If you have online or mobile access to your accounts, check your transactions as frequently as possible. Check your accounts for unauthorized charges or debits and continue monitoring your accounts The sooner you tell your provider about any unauthorized debits or charges, the better off you’ll be. Keep a close eye on your account activity and report suspicious transactions immediately to your bank or credit card provider. If your information was part of a breach, the most immediate risk is that the thieves may make unauthorized charges or debits to your accounts. This theft of credit and debit card information could impact tens of millions of consumers and we want to let you know what you can do to protect yourself if you spot fraudulent charges. Lately, we’ve received a lot of questions about what to do in light of the recent data breach at Target retail stores.