Equifax Data Breach – How You Can Protect Yourself

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As you have probably heard by now, the Equifax credit bureau reported last week that their database was infiltrated by criminals between May and July of this year.  According to Equifax, the criminals gathered information on 143 million people, including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and some driver’s license numbers.

What makes this worse is that there was never a realistic way to prevent yourself from being in Equifax’s database.  The three credit bureaus (Experian and TransUnion are the other two) get their information from lenders and public records, so almost every adult in this country has a file, like it or not.  These reports are used by lenders, landlords, potential employers, insurance companies and more to decide whether to extend credit to you, how much to charge for various services, etc.

As far as cybersecurity incidents go, this has the potential to be the most damaging to individuals of all time.  The number of people affected is significant, but most critically, the type of information is exactly what an ID thief would need to pass as someone else.  To address most of the incidents that have occurred in the past, such as the Yahoo or LinkedIn hacks, you could likely just change your passwords and move on with your life. 

You cannot simply change your name, Social Security number, or date of birth.  Therefore, we encourage you to take several steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.  What can you do?

  1. Go to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com and click on "Potential Impact," to see if your info was part of the hack.  But given that almost half of the US population was included in the incident, it’s probably safer to assume that you were involved.

  2. Monitor your credit.  This will not prevent any fraud, but it may help you catch any theft of your identity before it gets too bad.  There are a number of ways to monitor your information.

    • Equifax free credit monitoring for 1 year.  Sign up at equifaxsecurity2017.com – the agreement for this initially included a clause that waived your right to legal action if you accepted free monitoring.  But Equifax says they have removed that language from the terms of agreement.  Remember that, even if you get free credit monitoring for 1 year, the threat will not go away.  If criminals have your information, they are not going to erase it after 12 months.

    • Pay for a third-party service.  Typically, you’ll pay around $10-$20 monthly for a high-quality service.  These services will monitor all three credit bureaus and notify you of any changes.  There are also additional protections offered, such as insurance that covers you for id-theft-related losses.  See this site for a comparison of some of the top credit monitoring companies: http://www.reviews.com/identity-theft-protection-services/

    • Go to annualcreditreport.com to periodically check your reports for yourself.  You get free access to your report once a year for each of the three bureaus.  We recommend getting a report from one bureau every four months and alternating.  Free is good, but it can be hard for you to remember to do this regularly, and you may not want to let four months go by without monitoring.

  3. Set up fraud alerts with the credit bureaus.

    • An Initial Security Alert if you suspect you are a victim of identity theft.  This adds a message to your credit report for 90 days, notifying creditors that they should take extra precaution to ensure that they are talking to the real you.  Once you do this with any of the credit bureaus, they will notify and add the alert at the other bureaus for you.

    • An Extended Security Alert, if you have a police report.  This stays on file for up to 7 years, and requires creditors to contact you at a preapproved phone number before extending credit.

    • You can also add fraud alerts with credit card companies, though most major credit card companies already monitor your accounts for suspicious activity. 

  4. Freeze your credit reports with all three bureaus.  This is the most extreme step you can take, but it is also the most secure.  You will be provided with a PIN, which you must provide to the bureau to temporarily “thaw” your report any time somebody needs to access it legitimately.

    • Depending on the state you live in, there may be a small cost to freeze your credit – typically $3-$10.  If you live in North Carolina, a freeze can be done for free at http://www.ncdoj.gov/freefreeze

    • The freeze remains in place permanently, though you can permanently remove it at any time.  *Note, a freeze is automatically ended after 7 years if you live in a handful of states (but not NC).

  5. Do NOT give your Social Security number or other personal information to anybody who emails or calls you.  It seems inevitable that opportunistic criminals will start making calls claiming to be from Equifax and offering to “help protect you”.  If this happens, hang up immediately and notify the Federal Trade Commission using their Complaint Assistant site: www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.   

  6. Help protect your loved ones who might be especially vulnerable, like young adults and senior citizens.  Educate and remind them not to provide their personal information to anybody who calls or emails them.

Be aware that the credit bureaus are handling a tremendous deal of phone and web traffic right now.  If you call, expect a long wait time.  And if you get an error message for an online credit freeze, you may have to wait a few days and try again.

Unfortunately, the technology that makes our world better also creates new opportunities for criminals, so you have to protect yourself.

At Hilltop, we take your security very seriously.  This is why we have always required that you speak with us to request any money transfers or personal information.  If you would like to discuss any further personal security concerns, we are happy to talk with you.

Further resources:

Wise Financial DecisionsBrittany BrinckerhoffHilltop Wealth Advisors