Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus, experienced a massive data breach. The hackers accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. They also stole credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal identifying information for about 182,000 people.
Was my information stolen?
If you have a credit report, there’s a good chance it was. Go to a special website set up by Equifax to find out: https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/.
How can I protect myself?
- Monitor your credit reports. In addition, you can order a free copy of your credit report from all three of the credit reporting agencies at annualcreditreport.com. You are entitled to one free report from each of the credit bureaus once per year.
- Monitor your bank accounts and credit card accounts. We also encourage you to monitor your bank accounts regularly for fraudulent transactions. Use online and mobile banking to keep a close eye on your accounts.
- Change Your Passwords
- Consider using a fraud alert and monitoring software that is commercially available.
How do I contact the three major credit bureaus to place a freeze on my files?
- Equifax: Call 800-349-9960 or visit its website.
- Experian: Call 888-397-3742 or visit its website.
- TransUnion: Call 888-909-8872 or visit its website.
Where can I get more information about the Equifax breach?
- You can learn more directly from Equifax at https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/.
- You can also learn more by visiting the Federal Trade Commission’s web page on the breach at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do.
- To learn more about how to protect yourself after a breach, visit https://www.identitytheft.gov/Info-Lost-or-Stolen.