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Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports

https://www.consumerreports.org/equifax/a-freeze-wont-help-with-all-equifax-breach-threats/

 

Summary -

 

Step 0. freeze at EQ, EX, TU, and Innovis

 

Step 1. Sign up at mySocialSecurity to prevent anyone from trying to sign up for benefits in your name, especially if you are nearing retirement age 

Step 2. Attempt to obtain a PIN from the IRS to prevent anyone from trying to file for your tax refund before you do. Whether or not you obtain the PIN, monitor the website from time to time to see if any activity turns up.

Step 3. Obtain your medical records and review annual medical report files to monitor for medical fraud. Also review those boring EOBs as they come in, and of course your credit report.

Step 4. Obtain annual reports from check verification co's to make sure no one is using your DL illegitimately. 

 

 

I'm sure there's plenty more that credit crooks can do to mess with us. This is getting to be more and more complicated to manage, and a lot of folks just don't have the time and werewithal (or knowledge in the first place) to do all of this, which leaves gaps for fraudsters to slip through...

Message 1 of 10
9 REPLIES 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports

I'm nowhere near retirement age but I tried making an mysocialsecurity account and got a message saying one couldn't be made with my ss#. That doesn't sound good......

Message 2 of 10
SilverBerries
Contributor

Re: Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports

It says they do a "soft inquiry" when you go through the process. If a FREEZE has been placed on the three bureaus, I'm guessing that soft inquiry can't go through - therefore, no ability to set-up a MySSA identity. 

 

SB

Message 3 of 10
DaveInAZ
Senior Contributor

Re: Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports


@SilverBerries wrote:

It says they do a "soft inquiry" when you go through the process. If a FREEZE has been placed on the three bureaus, I'm guessing that soft inquiry can't go through - therefore, no ability to set-up a MySSA identity. 

 

SB


Yeah, a MyFico posted in the General Credit forum that they tried to create a MySSA account online with all CRAs frozen and was told you cannot while frozen as the SSA soft pulls to verify ID. They were advised to make an appointment at their local SSA office to create an account, they will advise you what ID you need to bring. I've had a MySSA account for some time, once you have an online account you can add a security level to receive a code via text to be allowed to log in. I did that some time ago.

 

Now off to read the ConsumerReports article on how to do steps 2-3....

 

EDIT: Ok, did step #2, filing IRS Form 14039, affadavit of ID theft & requesting a PIN for my IRS files, citing the EQ breach as the reason. The article says:

 

  • "The IRS would not say whether those affected by the Equifax breach would qualify for a PIN. Andrew Mattson, a tax partner at the Moss Adams tax firm in Silicon Valley, recommends that taxpayers who don’t officially qualify for a PIN request one anyway, by filing a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit (PDF). “Even if the IRS says no, your account will generally be flagged for additional monitoring for suspicious activity,” he says."

 

I file with TurboTax online. I logged in but they say Forum 14039 has to filed by mail. You can get the form here:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/picklist/list/formsPublications.html

 

It's a fillable PDF doc.

Message 4 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports

Ah, that might be the reason why then. I was panicking for a bit there lol Guess I'll give them a call and see if I can make an appointment with them then. Thanks.

 

Does it say who they soft pull?

Message 5 of 10
jsmith9
New Member

Re: Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports

I was unable to create a mysocialsecuirty account, as well, and at the moment I have only a fraud alert placed on my credit report with all 3 bureaus. When I called to speak to someone at SSA, I was told that an account can't be created if you have a freeze OR fraud alert placed on your Equifax credit report, which is what they use for the soft pull to help verify your identity.

Message 6 of 10
DaveInAZ
Senior Contributor

Re: Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports


@jsmith9 wrote:

I was unable to create a mysocialsecuirty account, as well, and at the moment I have only a fraud alert placed on my credit report with all 3 bureaus. When I called to speak to someone at SSA, I was told that an account can't be created if you have a freeze OR fraud alert placed on your Equifax credit report, which is what they use for the soft pull to help verify your identity.


That you can't create a mysocialsecuirty account while there's a freeze or fraud alert placed on your credit report is reassuring. That they use Equifax to verify your identity, not so reassuring.

Message 7 of 10
MAZDA3
Frequent Contributor

Re: Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports

I set up an account with SSA and froze all four credit reports. How exactly would someone file your tax return? The IRS wasn’t hacked too were they? I use TAXACT and every year they ask me for the pin I set up at the end of filing before submitting the current year return.

Is this the same pin you’re talking about?
Message 8 of 10
DaveInAZ
Senior Contributor

Re: Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports


@MAZDA3 wrote:
I set up an account with SSA and froze all four credit reports. How exactly would someone file your tax return? The IRS wasn’t hacked too were they? I use TAXACT and every year they ask me for the pin I set up at the end of filing before submitting the current year return.

Is this the same pin you’re talking about?

That Consumer Reports article linked in the OP says :

 

  • With your Social Security number, crooks can file false income tax returns in your name, take bogus deductions, and steal the resulting refund. More than 14,000 fraudulent 2016 tax returns, with $92 million in unwarranted refunds, were detected and stopped by the Internal Revenue Service as of last March.

 

Maybe that PIN is something TaxAct does on their own, I use TurboTax and no PIN is required. When someone files a return in your name & SS# and claims a big refund, when you try to file your actual return it gets rejected as already been filed.

Message 9 of 10
MAZDA3
Frequent Contributor

Re: Equifax Hack - 4 Additional Steps after freezing your credit reports

Thank you for clarifying Dave. I went ahead and set up a myssa account and an IRS pin.
Message 10 of 10
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