How widespread is this hack, you ask? and other news outlets are reporting that in all, as many as 77 million accounts may have been hacked, based on the number of PSN accounts. Sony also states, "While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained."

To give you some context, this is roughly twice the population of California, and equivalent to approximately 25 percent of the total United States population (based on 2010 census estimates).

For the time being, Sony has temporarily disabled its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services so it can analyze these services for other security issues. Sony is advising its customers to watch for e-mail and postal mail scams orchestrated by data thieves, and to stay on the lookout for anything suspicious on your credit report or financial account statements.

You should regularly check your credit report: If you live in the United States, you are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies by visiting . From there, you should put a fraud alert on your credit report. Fraud alerts only last for a few months, so you may want to contact the credit reporting agencies in a few months to extend it.