Target Hacked – 40 Million Credit Cards and Private Data Stolen

Target, one of America's biggest retailers, revealed that between November 27th and December 15th it was the target of a massive hack that exposed the credit card numbers and other personal, private data for over 40 million customers at its brick-and-mortar stores.

We're not just talking Target Credit Cards, but potentially every debit or credit card that was used to make a purchase at Target during the hack. Your debit cards.

The data collected includes credit and debit card numbers, expiration dates, CVV codes (the three-digit security code on the back of your card), and customer names. For their part, Target issued a statement advising customers to keep an eye on their bank and credit statements:

You should remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft by regularly reviewing your account statements and monitoring free credit reports. If you discover any suspicious or unusual activity on your accounts or suspect fraud, be sure to report it immediately to your financial institutions. In addition, you may contact the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") or law enforcement to report incidents of identity theft or to learn about steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft.

The statement goes on to recommend that you check your credit report periodically from each of the three major credit bureaus, which you can check for free once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Ironically all of the stolen cards came from physical stores, rather than online.

So how many of us went Black Friday and Christmas shopping at Target on Blue Lakes? I go there at least twice a week. Watch your accounts people.

(Via Gawker)