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Equifax hack exposes personal info of 143 million people (1 Viewer)

Go to the websites for TransUnion, Experian, Equifax and Innovis and make online requests for a credit freeze. TransUnion requires you to make an account first but the other 3 do not. Equifax and Experian gave me a 10 digit PIN number that needs to be used to unfreeze the account and TransUnion allowed me to make my own 6 digit pin. Innovis is mailing me a copy of the freeze request which I assume will have a pin or method of unfreezing. 

 
Chemical X said:
now is the time to lock down your credit reports.....make them unavailable with a freeze only you can temporarily unlock with a passcode.  it's a small hassle when you need to buy a car or need credit, very small.  but compared to russians opening up mortgages, CCs and phone accounts, much less a hassle.
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this is important, make sure you tell all the bureaus not to allow your passcode to become compromised.   

 
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GroveDiesel said:
Not me, but a friend in college spent 3 years dealing with a $120,000 mortgage fraudulently taken out in his name.
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that's crazy.   was the person actually living in the house?

 
Zaxxon said:
Go to the websites for TransUnion, Experian, Equifax and Innovis and make online requests for a credit freeze. TransUnion requires you to make an account first but the other 3 do not. Equifax and Experian gave me a 10 digit PIN number that needs to be used to unfreeze the account and TransUnion allowed me to make my own 6 digit pin. Innovis is mailing me a copy of the freeze request which I assume will have a pin or method of unfreezing. 
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Did any of them cost money to freeze?

 
Zaxxon said:
Go to the websites for TransUnion, Experian, Equifax and Innovis and make online requests for a credit freeze. TransUnion requires you to make an account first but the other 3 do not. Equifax and Experian gave me a 10 digit PIN number that needs to be used to unfreeze the account and TransUnion allowed me to make my own 6 digit pin. Innovis is mailing me a copy of the freeze request which I assume will have a pin or method of unfreezing. 
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God this sounds like a PIA 

 
Otis said:
God this sounds like a PIA 
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Yup. But it can take months or years to fix fraudulent activity on your records. 

Consider it a form of insurance. A cost up front that hopefully will be for naught, but worth a ton compared to not having it and being compromised.

 
The obvious solution is to buy Equifax protection. The credit companies are only looking out for our best interests and if you didn't have protection prior to this then shame on you.

These people are nice enough to assign a clear and concise number to our existence that all future commerce is based on and you don't have the decency to pay them to protect the number they took upon themselves to give you , without even asking I might add ,out of the kindness of their hearts?

You were just asking for it. USA USA USA!

 
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Next time you deal with these credit companies keep one thing in mind. The Nazis also had numbers that they made the Jews wear.

 
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Sheriff Bart said:
I just heard that in the fine print that you also give up your right to sue them too.  What a deal!!
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It seems just checking if you're impacted contains this clause:

AGREEMENT TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES BY BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE SECTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS BY REQUIRING ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES (EXCEPT AS SET FORTH BELOW) AND A WAIVER OF THE ABILITY TO BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION, OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.ARBITRATION PROVIDES A QUICK AND COST EFFECTIVE MECHANISM FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES, BUT YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT IT ALSO LIMITS YOUR RIGHTS TO DISCOVERY AND APPEAL.

Which, of course, you can opt out of, but you have to give them a written notice, within 30 days.

 
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GroveDiesel said:
No no no no. If you take their year of credit monitoring, you waive your right to be a part of any class action lawsuit. Plus, you're really going to trust the same company that didn't protect your identity to now protect your identity?

If you want credit monitoring, pay for it from someone else.

I have a feeling that the results of the class action will be much better than a year of their credit monitoring.
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:lol:  yeah, you and 143 million other people.  Maybe collect a buck on that one.  The lawyers will be set for life.  

 
Are other people doing this?  Sounds like such a PIA. But maybe worth it?  Never know what to think with all these data breaches. 

 
Finally checked and it says we both may have been affected. We have LifeLock which is great in informing us immediately when someone has opened an account in our name. Not sure if I want to go through the whole credit freeze thing. I guess it's time to do the annual credit report thing again.

We really seem to have a backwards system in which we put the responsibility on credit seekers for fraudulent activity instead of in the credit lenders. If you give credit out to a fraudulent party you should bare 100% of the responsibility. Consumers should be protected. There seems like there is plenty of money in the system for lenders to shore up their lending practices and to protect themselves.

 
cap'n grunge said:
Finally checked and it says we both may have been affected. We have LifeLock which is great in informing us immediately when someone has opened an account in our name. Not sure if I want to go through the whole credit freeze thing. I guess it's time to do the annual credit report thing again.

We really seem to have a backwards system in which we put the responsibility on credit seekers for fraudulent activity instead of in the credit lenders. If you give credit out to a fraudulent party you should bare 100% of the responsibility. Consumers should be protected. There seems like there is plenty of money in the system for lenders to shore up their lending practices and to protect themselves.
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And possibly affect profits?  Sell your sickles somewhere else, commie.

 
cap'n grunge said:
Finally checked and it says we both may have been affected. We have LifeLock which is great in informing us immediately when someone has opened an account in our name. Not sure if I want to go through the whole credit freeze thing. I guess it's time to do the annual credit report thing again.

We really seem to have a backwards system in which we put the responsibility on credit seekers for fraudulent activity instead of in the credit lenders. If you give credit out to a fraudulent party you should bare 100% of the responsibility. Consumers should be protected. There seems like there is plenty of money in the system for lenders to shore up their lending practices and to protect themselves.
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That makes too much sense.  What a dumb idea. 

 
Didn't read all 4 pages, but I clicked the link and entered the last 6 digits against my better judgment. They believe I may have been impacted. Do I go back Monday and sign up for their service? Also, did I just f myself by putting that info in? Ball cancer?

 
Sheriff Bart said:
SO happy I put a credit freeze on a couple of months ago.  THANK YOU CLARK HOWARD!!!
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Clark has an article about this hack and basically says freeze your credit and sign up for free monitoring like creditkarma

http://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/equifax-breach-how-to-protect-yourself-from-whats-coming-next/

For some reason, in my state, the fee is $10 each.  Me, my wife and 2 teenagers...$120 to protect us from something that is not at all our fault and totally out of our control.  Ridiculous.

 
Zaxxon said:
Zero cost for any of them but I think it might vary by state. I think it costs $10 to unfreeze and $10 to freeze again if necessary.
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Equifax seems to want me to pay $10.00.  Anyway around this or is it just going to come up automatically based on your current residence?

 
Tiger Fan said:
This whole thing blows.  No idea who to trust
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You can't trust anyone but you with your data. Not your doctor's office, not your bank, not online retailers, not brick and mortar retailers, not "credit protection" services, not the government. The only thing you can do is minimize the amount of data you provide and limit the number of entities to which you provide your data to a minimum. Even then it gets backdoored to people like this, but do the best you can to limit the scope of who you give your data to.

 
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Evilgrin 72 said:
Didn't read all 4 pages, but I clicked the link and entered the last 6 digits against my better judgment. They believe I may have been impacted. Do I go back Monday and sign up for their service? Also, did I just f myself by putting that info in? Ball cancer?
Click to expand...


Spin said:
It seems just checking if you're impacted contains this clause:

AGREEMENT TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES BY BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE SECTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS BY REQUIRING ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES (EXCEPT AS SET FORTH BELOW) AND A WAIVER OF THE ABILITY TO BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION, OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.ARBITRATION PROVIDES A QUICK AND COST EFFECTIVE MECHANISM FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES, BUT YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT IT ALSO LIMITS YOUR RIGHTS TO DISCOVERY AND APPEAL.

Which, of course, you can opt out of, but you have to give them a written notice, within 30 days.
Click to expand...


Credit monitoring does nothing for you.  Nothing.  Don't sign up.

Willy said:
Clark has an article about this hack and basically says freeze your credit and sign up for free monitoring like creditkarma

http://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/equifax-breach-how-to-protect-yourself-from-whats-coming-next/

For some reason, in my state, the fee is $10 each.  Me, my wife and 2 teenagers...$120 to protect us from something that is not at all our fault and totally out of our control.  Ridiculous.
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I had to pay too but worth it.

 
Make Equifax give each person $10,000 cash and have to do nothing to receive it. No lawyers. No sign up to claim it. No injunctions. No b.s. Just do it. And you have 45 days to make it happen or it goes up $100 per day per person until completed. 

That should get things moving. The onus should not be on the consumer.

 
cap'n grunge said:
Finally checked and it says we both may have been affected. We have LifeLock which is great in informing us immediately when someone has opened an account in our name. Not sure if I want to go through the whole credit freeze thing. I guess it's time to do the annual credit report thing again.

We really seem to have a backwards system in which we put the responsibility on credit seekers for fraudulent activity instead of in the credit lenders. If you give credit out to a fraudulent party you should bare 100% of the responsibility. Consumers should be protected. There seems like there is plenty of money in the system for lenders to shore up their lending practices and to protect themselves.
Click to expand...
If only there were politicians who waned to protect us.  From Al Franken:

Equifax is one of the largest credit bureaus in the United States. They track the consumer financial information—like loans and credit card payment history—that serves as the basis for your credit score, and they store personal information ranging from social security numbers to home addresses. Yesterday, Equifax broke the news that their databases were breached in a massive cybersecurity attack, putting the sensitive information of nearly 145 million Americans at risk.
 
Now, first and foremost, I urge everybody to take stock of your accounts. Check up on your bank accounts regularly, sign up for a reputable credit monitoring service as soon as possible, and be extremely careful before opening emails or clicking links.
 
But I’m concerned about a specific remedy that Equifax is offering customers and consumers.
 
I’ve long fought to limit something called forced arbitration clauses—which is fine print that giant corporations bury into contracts in order to insulate themselves from liability. Mandatory, forced arbitration agreements lock you, the consumer, out of pursuing meaningful justice in the courts after you’ve been wronged. And these agreements can also prevent you from banding together with other victims in class-action lawsuits.
 
In the wake of this massive breach, Equifax has said that anyone who signs up for its own credit monitoring service—which is called TrustedID—must waive their rights to sue or join a class-action suit.
 
This is not how business should be done. When a company fails to protect its customers, they should take responsibility rather than look for ways to get off the hook. And furthermore, many caught up in this breach aren’t even paying customers—they’re everyday consumers whose information has been aggregated by Equifax for years.
 
I plan to ask Equifax to clarify what exactly the legal rights are for the reportedly 143 million Americans whose information was caught up in this cyberattack. Americans deserve to know what they can do to prevent their livelihoods from being ruined by hackers and identify theft, and Equifax needs to give that information to them as soon as possible.
 
In the meantime, if you believe you’ve been affected by the breach, I still strongly urge you to seek out a trustworthy credit monitoring service. And you can read more about protecting your identity here: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft

 
So is everyone freezing their credit?  

How much of a PIA is it to unfreeze?  I may need to have my credit checked for a credit line end of year. Will that be a hassle?

also I assume this freeze won't impact your credit score?

 
You nerds done worrying about this yet? I assume you're the same people with a 900 credit score that worry a soft inquiry might drop you to an 895

 
Otis said:
So is everyone freezing their credit?  

How much of a PIA is it to unfreeze?  I may need to have my credit checked for a credit line end of year. Will that be a hassle?

also I assume this freeze won't impact your credit score?
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Havent frozen yet, since Im traveling, but like you am questioning what the ramifications are in, like, two months when I know ill probably be looking for a different car.

 
urbanhack said:
If only there were politicians who waned to protect us.  From Al Franken:

Equifax is one of the largest credit bureaus in the United States. They track the consumer financial information—like loans and credit card payment history—that serves as the basis for your credit score, and they store personal information ranging from social security numbers to home addresses. Yesterday, Equifax broke the news that their databases were breached in a massive cybersecurity attack, putting the sensitive information of nearly 145 million Americans at risk.
 
Now, first and foremost, I urge everybody to take stock of your accounts. Check up on your bank accounts regularly, sign up for a reputable credit monitoring service as soon as possible, and be extremely careful before opening emails or clicking links.
 
But I’m concerned about a specific remedy that Equifax is offering customers and consumers.
 
I’ve long fought to limit something called forced arbitration clauses—which is fine print that giant corporations bury into contracts in order to insulate themselves from liability. Mandatory, forced arbitration agreements lock you, the consumer, out of pursuing meaningful justice in the courts after you’ve been wronged. And these agreements can also prevent you from banding together with other victims in class-action lawsuits.
 
In the wake of this massive breach, Equifax has said that anyone who signs up for its own credit monitoring service—which is called TrustedID—must waive their rights to sue or join a class-action suit.
 
This is not how business should be done. When a company fails to protect its customers, they should take responsibility rather than look for ways to get off the hook. And furthermore, many caught up in this breach aren’t even paying customers—they’re everyday consumers whose information has been aggregated by Equifax for years.
 
I plan to ask Equifax to clarify what exactly the legal rights are for the reportedly 143 million Americans whose information was caught up in this cyberattack. Americans deserve to know what they can do to prevent their livelihoods from being ruined by hackers and identify theft, and Equifax needs to give that information to them as soon as possible.
 
In the meantime, if you believe you’ve been affected by the breach, I still strongly urge you to seek out a trustworthy credit monitoring service. And you can read more about protecting your identity here: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft
Click to expand...
Franken 2020

 
I'm not about to go out to four or five different places and freeze my credit because THEY ####ed up.  That just doesn't sit well with me at all.  If my identity is stolen because of this hack and it ends up ruining my credit, why am I the one that is left holding nothing?  You will never be compensated for it and from what I hear its almost not even worth fighting.  The person that does nothing wrong is the one that pays.

 
Johnnymac said:
I'm not about to go out to four or five different places and freeze my credit because THEY ####ed up.  That just doesn't sit well with me at all.  If my identity is stolen because of this hack and it ends up ruining my credit, why am I the one that is left holding nothing?  You will never be compensated for it and from what I hear its almost not even worth fighting.  The person that does nothing wrong is the one that pays.
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If freezing your credit prevents headaches down the road it might be worth it. Shouldn't have to obviously but you do what you gotta do.

 
cap'n grunge said:
If freezing your credit prevents headaches down the road it might be worth it. Shouldn't have to obviously but you do what you gotta do.
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I already have the headache :) .  I know what you mean but I just cant justify it.  It's their responsibility to protect that information and I'm not going to pay them to freeze my credit because they cant protect my information, or anybody else's for that matter. Something really sounds wrong when you say that out loud to yourself.

 
To unfreeze your account, you just have to contact them by phone or online with the PIN number you get when you freeze it. You can either unfreeze it for a specified time, or for a specific company making the inquiry.

It's a PITA to freeze them right now though. I did get my Equifax one frozen online, but the online systems for both Experian and TransUnion seem overwhelmed right now and I'm having to print stuff out and mail it in to get those frozen. Completely ridiculous.

 
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