Identity theft is a terrifying thing. Being robbed of anything feels like a total violation of the soul. Identity theft takes it to an entirely new level. Just how bad the recent theft of credit card information from Target remains to be seen. However, this is a theft of epic proportions.

I am sure you are aware of the heist. Target confirmed that over 40 million credit card numbers and their pins were directly stolen through a glitch in their transaction system which exposed the data for hackers to gain access. This means that the Target glitch, its successive break-in by hackers, has become one of the largest intentional breaches in American credit card history. As reported in www.mariettatimes.com.

There is a solution to this type of theft. Banks and credit industry leaders are coming in for the rescue, wanting to use "new" card designs that have been popular in Europe and elsewhere that utilize RFID chips or integrated circuits in the cards to hold the information more securely than magnetic strips.

Did you know that the Target Corporation has its very own forensic labs which rival the governments’ own. Called Target Forensic Services, these forensic labs are primarily used internally for Target's own purposes like investigating fraud and organized retail crimes. Target goes even further than that, by using their state of the art facilities in Las Vegas and Minneapolis, to help the U.S. government with some of its toughest cases including felony, homicide, and other special investigations.

Is this the future of credit cards? What do you think? How safe do you feel about using a credit card? Do you think mandatory theft educational courses would reduce this type of crime?