Citi Breach: Bank Card Data Hacked

News of a recent Citibank data breach into customer's credit card information should be putting consumers on high alert.

After all, the hack occurred more than a month ago - but Citi only recently confirmed the breach. According to Citi, certain information, including credit card numbers, e-mail addresses, and other contact information, was breached for about 1% of its 21 million North American card holders.

Other information, like social security numbers, birth dates, credit card security codes and expiration dates were not stolen.

Customers whose data was taken will be contacted by Citi via either e-mail or a notification in their online accounts. Customers will also be receiving a replacement credit card, reports The New York Times.

Consumers who are worried about their information should take a few steps to help safeguard their information as well, and should probably not just wait for Citi to take action.

Some simple tips include:

• Check up on your credit card statements to make sure there has been no suspicious activity. If there have been fraudulent charges, or charges you don't remember making, contact the bank.
• If you get e-mails from the bank, be wary since the e-mails could be phishing e-mails trying to get more information on your account. Always check the links in the e-mails to make sure they are actually directing you to the bank's site and not some phony website.
• Be careful with your passwords and security question answers. When choosing passwords, use a combination of letters, numbers and symbols if possible. Also, choose security questions and answers that other people will have trouble figuring out.

For now, the perpetrators of the Citibank data breach have not been found, reports The New York Times. The last time Citigroup was hacked, the hackers were reportedly tied to a Russian group.

Related resources:

• Citibank Breach: 6 Tips to Bank Online Safely (ABC News)
• Credit Card Data and Encryption: Big Holes in Protection (FindLaw's Common Law)
• DOJ: Hacker Stole 130 Million Credit Card Numbers (FindLaw's Blotter)