Yes, it’s the holiday season and everyone is shopping everywhere. It’s like a shopping frenzy and most people burn through their cash in no time at all. Great deals and bargains pop all over the famous malls and retailers. Once cash is burned, people turn to their credit cards. Sadly, for 40 million people who shopped at Target this holiday season, they’ll have to take the necessary measures to prevent credit card fraud and watch out for suspicious activity on their card. Target has been hacked and sensitive credit card information is compromised.

The hackers specifically targeted (no pun intended) the central payment systems of the company. When they got in the system, the data thieves were able to get their hands on and download millions of credit card numbers. They were also able to get the personal information of each shopper down to the details of what exactly the shopper bought. Aside from that, there were also other sensitive information stolen from the people who bought gift certificates. These customers have their home address, contact numbers, and even bank information on the record so all these information could easily be compromised in the processed.

Of course, since we are talking about millions of user information, the attack did not happen overnight or in just a few days. In fact, the attack occurred in a span of three weeks. It all occurred under the noses of Target online security systems. From November 27 up to the 15^th of December, the hackers downloaded millions of details along with transaction records and they saved it all up at their central data server found in Russia.

Target CEO, Gregg Steinhafel, responded to the breach in their systems and he reassured his patrons. He said that they are taking this matter seriously and they are working closely with law enforcement to catch the people responsible behind these attacks.

Right now, if you bought even just a single item from Target this holiday season, you should be very vigilant and watchful of your bank account. Make sure that there are no illegal transactions whatsoever. Even the slightest hint of suspicious activity should be reported immediately because you have no idea if the hackers picked your credit card as their target for fraud. Of course, the hackers would not act immediately on this info. They know that the credit card companies are keeping an eagle’s eye on these stolen accounts. However, when the time is ripe, they’ll attack and that’s when you must be ready.

We all know that Target is a big name in the industry but even they can’t be safe from breaches like these. Next time, when you shop online, you’ll want to be certain that your credit card info is safe and protected. One thing you can do is to use prepaid debit cards that are like online “wallets.” You choose how much you put in. This way, even if the account is compromised, they won’t be able to charge you more than what you put in the card.

These days when hackers are rampant, it’s always wise to have added security when you browse online for that peace of mind. A Virtual Private Network or VPN is the key. Faceless.me is one of the top VPN service providers that can help you stay safe from these cyber attacks.