The Equifax Leak: Actions to Take Now

Detect
Check  the status of your accounts (financial and credit history)

• TrustedID Check
• Dark Web Email Check

​
Prevent

• Consider a credit freeze : See “A” below
• Fraud Alerts : See “B” below
• Improve your login security with strong, unique passwords for each online account you use. Use two-factor authentication if it’s available to you.

Plan

• File your taxes as soon as possible.
• Think about “What-if” it happened to you.

Check with Equifax to see if you were affected by the breach:

• At Equifax, click on “Check Potential Impact,” then enter your last name and the final six digits of your Social Security number. Equifax will supply a message noting whether it believes your personal information was compromised. Even if your information wasn’t compromised, you’ll have the option of signing up for a free year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection services from Equifax’s TrustedID Premier. 

A.  Placing a Security Freeze on Your Credit (Guidelines from Consumers Union):

Deciding Whether to Place a Security Freeze

• http://consumersunion.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/Things-to-Consider-When-Deciding-Whether-to-Place-a-Security-Freeze-2.pdf

How to Place a Security Freeze
In order to effectively freeze access to your credit files, you must request a security freeze to be placed at each of the three major credit bureaus. Pricing is determined by state but paid to the respective agency.

​By Phone: Call each of the credit bureaus at the number provided below:

• Transunion: 1-888-909-8872
• Equifax: 1-800-685-1111
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742​​

​​​​Online: On each credit bureau’s website (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian), you can find an online form to place your security freeze.

• https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze2
• https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp
• https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

​B. Initial Fraud Alert
To set a fraud alert, contact just ONE of the credit card bureaus and ask for an initial fraud alert. Once the alert is set, it will last 90 days. After that, you'll have to renew it:

• Equifax: 1-888-766-0008
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

More information here.
 
C. Purchasing Identity Theft Protection vs. DIY:
While this article is promotional, it gives a very clear rundown of the difference between identity theft protection and credit monitoring. This article goes through many aspects to consider when deciding the next steps of action to take after this Equifax breach.