Equifax - data breach - 143 million US consumers

[DaveInAZ]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

 If there ever was a perfect example of "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"......this is it. It has turned into a charlie foxtrot because of the way that EQ has handled and responded to this event. Their commitment to ineptitude is astounding...  

With that said, I read through this entire thread and a multitude other media channels. Due to the aforementioned EQ ineptitude, I am not 100% about my action plan.  I want to minimize risk w/o waving my rights or hampering my credit worthiness - I am very open to suggestions and comments:

1. Check Equifax for potential impact.  I did this early last week - This tool further supports my thoughts on Equifax.  It should be a clear "Yes" or "No" but instead I get "may be impacted".  I plugged in some random letters/numbers and got the same response...
2. Enroll in TrustedID - Haven't done this yet as it was during the controversial time period of signing up = waving rights to join class action.  Since that is not the case anymore, I plan on doing this later today.
3. Contact all 3 CRA to enable a credit freeze.  My question: I only want to block new credit lines (cards, loans, etc) from being created.  I am planted firmly in the Garden so no new lines is not an issue.  However, what are the potential issues with a freeze?
4. If I have my credit frozen do I still need to also place a fraud alert with a CRA?

Thank you in advance!  I am so glad that we have myFICO to help disseminate the good info from the bad info.

---

Everyone needs to make their own decision as to what protects them best from being a further victim of EQ's data breach, i.e., someone using your info to open new accounts, etc. I've never frozen or locked a credit bureau file before. as I never felt the need. After doing alot of research I've chosen to just lock the file directly with each CRA.

From my research it appears that a freeze blocks all access to your credit file. No one can access your file in an application for new credit, or even someone checking your credit in applying to rent housing if they require a credit check, or a utility (cable/satellite/electricity/cellular) if they require a credit check. But also your existing creditors can no long do a SP account review, and any 3rd party credit monitoring service like Credit Karma can no longer access your file.

If you lock your credit  file directly with each CRA, no one can access your file in an application for new credit, and no one checking your credit in applying to a rental or utility can access your file if they require a credit check. But your existing creditors can still do a SP account review, and 3rd party credit monitoring services like Credit Karma can still access your file IF they had access BEFORE you lock. After you lock, new credit monitoring can NOT gain access. I tested this with Synchrony Lowes. I locked TU Monday 9/11. Tuesday I was logged in my Lowes account and they started offering free TU Fico monthly scores. So I clicked to enroll - Ooops! No go, I got a message they were unable to provide the service as my TU account was locked. Good! I already have plenty of free TU Fico scores from other CCs. .

To lock your credit file directly with the CRAs:

TU: TransUnion offers a free very basic monitoring service, TrueIdentity.com, and it allows you to lock & unlock your TU file at will

EQ: Equifax's free TrustedID.com (if they allow you to enroll) provides basic EQ monitoring and it allows you to lock & unlock your EQ file at will. I already had a free EQ Complete Premier Score service from doing a $4.95 30 day trial I canceled, and continued to get free service, so I'm using that.

EX: Experian is the problem, I know of no free EX service that allows you to lock/unlock your EX file. I have Experian's CreditScore.com service. I did the $4.95 30 day trial, and canceled it before the 30 days. After I cancelled I continued to get free access, with free Fico score & full report every couple of weeks. I was happy with that, but the free service would not let me lock my file. So I did the $4.95 trial again and locked my file. I don't know if when I cancel the trial if my file will stay locked. I would think it would, but I won't find out for sure until I cancel by Oct. 13.

Anyone who knows of other free/inexpensive services that will let you lock/unlock your credit file, please chip in. And of course if any of my info is incorrect please let me know right away & I'll correct.

[mitchblue]

---

@DaveInAZ wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

 If there ever was a perfect example of "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"......this is it. It has turned into a charlie foxtrot because of the way that EQ has handled and responded to this event. Their commitment to ineptitude is astounding...  

With that said, I read through this entire thread and a multitude other media channels. Due to the aforementioned EQ ineptitude, I am not 100% about my action plan.  I want to minimize risk w/o waving my rights or hampering my credit worthiness - I am very open to suggestions and comments:

1. Check Equifax for potential impact.  I did this early last week - This tool further supports my thoughts on Equifax.  It should be a clear "Yes" or "No" but instead I get "may be impacted".  I plugged in some random letters/numbers and got the same response...
2. Enroll in TrustedID - Haven't done this yet as it was during the controversial time period of signing up = waving rights to join class action.  Since that is not the case anymore, I plan on doing this later today.
3. Contact all 3 CRA to enable a credit freeze.  My question: I only want to block new credit lines (cards, loans, etc) from being created.  I am planted firmly in the Garden so no new lines is not an issue.  However, what are the potential issues with a freeze?
4. If I have my credit frozen do I still need to also place a fraud alert with a CRA?

Thank you in advance!  I am so glad that we have myFICO to help disseminate the good info from the bad info.

---

Everyone needs to make their own decision as to what protects them best from being a further victim of EQ's data breach, i.e., someone using your info to open new accounts, etc. I've never frozen or locked a credit bureau file before. as I never felt the need. After doing alot of research I've chosen to just lock the file directly with each CRA.

From my research it appears that a freeze blocks all access to your credit file. No one can access your file in an application for new credit, or even someone checking your credit in applying to rent housing if they require a credit check, or a utility (cable/satellite/electricity/cellular) if they require a credit check. But also your existing creditors can no long do a SP account review, and any 3rd party credit monitoring service like Credit Karma can no longer access your file.

If you lock your credit  file directly with each CRA, no one can access your file in an application for new credit, and no one checking your credit in applying to a rental or utility can access your file if they require a credit check. But your existing creditors can still do a SP account review, and 3rd party credit monitoring services like Credit Karma can still access your file IF they had access BEFORE you lock. After you lock, new credit monitoring can NOT gain access. I tested this with Synchrony Lowes. I locked TU Monday 9/11. Tuesday I was logged in my Lowes account and they started offering free TU Fico monthly scores. So I clicked to enroll - Ooops! No go, I got a message they were unable to provide the service as my TU account was locked. Good! I already have plenty of free TU Fico scores from other CCs. .

To lock your credit file directly with the CRAs:

TU: TransUnion offers a free very basic monitoring service, TrueIdentity.com, and it allows you to lock & unlock your TU file at will

EQ: Equifax's free TrustedID.com (if they allow you to enroll) provides basic EQ monitoring and it allows you to lock & unlock your EQ file at will. I already had a free EQ Complete Premier Score service from doing a $4.95 30 day trial I canceled, and continued to get free service, so I'm using that.

EX: Experian is the problem, I know of no free EX service that allows you to lock/unlock your EX file. I have Experian's CreditScore.com service. I did the $4.95 30 day trial, and canceled it before the 30 days. After I cancelled I continued to get free access, with free Fico score & full report every couple of weeks. I was happy with that, but the free service would not let me lock my file. So I did the $4.95 trial again and locked my file. I don't know if when I cancel the trial if my file will stay locked. I would think it would, but I won't find out for sure until I cancel by Oct. 13.

Anyone who knows of other free/inexpensive services that will let you lock/unlock your credit file, please chip in. And of course if any of my info is incorrect please let me know right away & I'll correct.

---

Freeze or inexpensive (Freeze), just go directly to the source. Depending on where you live, $10 per CB in some states, $5 in others ( like me in Arizona), and free for others. Some even have free for some CB but $5 or $10 for another. Not sure if that's inexpensive in others eyes. You also pay to temp unfreeze, assuming you pay in the first place.

[CreditCuriosity]

Their stock took another close to 15% loss today.. I am personally loving it, couldn't happen to nicer more incompetent people.  Stock price pre-breach 142ish now 99$.  Somewhat tempted to buy in the next few days although would be a gamble as I think worse is to come for them when more stuff hits the fans.  Sure the stock holders are just thrilled about this as they are losing their you know what.  

[DeeBee78]

---

@CreditCuriousity wrote:

Their stock took another close to 15% loss today.. I am personally loving it, couldn't happen to nicer more incompetent people.  Stock price pre-breach 142ish now 99$.  Somewhat tempted to buy in the next few days although would be a gamble as I think worse is to come for them when more stuff hits the fans.  Sure the stock holders are just thrilled about this as they are losing their you know what.  

---

I don't think they'll have any money after the lawsuits and fines are settled. If stock was still printed on paper, their's wouldn't be worth the paper it was printed on when this is all said and done. 

[kberly69]

I'm so not a litigious person and have thrown many a postcard away inviting me to join a class action suit. I cannot wait to join this one. Equifax gathered up MY idenity and then let someone else steal it. Unless I get a new one, I am at risk for the REST OF MY LIFE.

[Anonymous]

I just listed my identity on Ebay, if anyone is gonna profit from it it's gonna be me, in your face hackers!

[IgnatiusReilly]

The scope of the class action suit will be so large that the payout will be tiny.  Except of course for the lawyers.  

This company is done.   This is an issue every politician in America can grandstand on and there will be committee hearings in about six Congressional committees.  The execs from Equifax will be pinatas.  Insider selling, a chief security officer with degrees in music composition, their absolutely horrible PR since the news hit... Congress is going to have a field day.

And most if not all of the individual states will sue, because every state AG is an aspiring governor, senator, or congressman.  Except in CA, where our AG did it the other way around.  

[Anonymous]

Figured I'd share this here...

"The Equifax breach that exposed sensitive data for as many as 143 million US consumers was accomplished by exploiting a Web application vulnerability that had been patched more two months earlier, officials with the credit reporting service said Thursday."

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/09/massive-equifax-breach-caused-by-failure-to-p...

And apparently Equifax's ineptitude extends to other countries...

"It took almost no time for them to discover that an online portal designed to let Equifax employees in Argentina manage credit report disputes from consumers in that country was wide open, protected by perhaps the most easy-to-guess password combination ever: “admin/admin.”

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/09/ayuda-help-equifax-has-my-data/

I hadn't been on the myFico forums for a long time. When I heard about the breach last week, this was the first place I came to see what people were saying

[Anonymous]

This company is clearly in need of a new moniker. I'm thinking Equihack or possibly Leakifax.

[1268]

What is the latest status of the Equifax data breach?  Should we freeze our credit??