By now you have probably heard about the massive Target hack. Personal as well as credit and debit card information of more than 70 million users was stolen as a result of this hack, which took place during the holiday season, a time when customer activity is usually high. Customers who were affected have already been advised to keep an eye on their bank activity and report any anomalies, but as a precautionary measure, Citigroup has announced that it is going to replace all customer debit cards that were affected by the hack.
While the financial juggernaut declined to reveal how many debit cards are being reissued, it did say that they weren’t replaced sooner because Citi wanted to minimize disruptions during the holiday shopping season. JPMorgan has already said that it will reissue new debit cards at many of its branches. It has been reported that Citi does not plan on reissuing credit cards that might have been affected by said hack. On the other hand, Target has announced that it is now offering a year’s worth of credit monitoring and identity theft protection to all affected customers, there’s a three month window to sign up for the free service, which normally costs $191.