Final answer:
The total credit card debt in 2012 was likely in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Step-by-step explanation:
In order to estimate the total credit card debt in 2012, we need to consider the information provided in the references. The information suggests that in 2008, credit card debt had risen to over $1 trillion. Although this is not an exact figure for 2012, it can give us an idea of the magnitude of credit card debt during that time. Therefore, we can estimate that the total credit card debt in 2012 was likely to be a significant portion of the total debt of $2978 billion, possibly in the hundreds of billions.