Stolen ID

[Gregory Matthews]

Equifax has announced that the Social Security numbers and other sensitive information for some 143,000,000 Americans has been stolen.  This means that these people my be subject to criminals using their IDs in criminal activities.

Equifax has established an Internet sit where one may go to determine if they are one who has had their information stolen. That site is:

www.equifaxsecurity23017.com

To check, go to that website, enter your last name and the last 6 numbers of your Social Security number and you will be informed as to whether or not you are one of the affected people.

The information that has been stolen includes:

*  Social security number

*  Drivers license number

*  Birth date

*  Address

Equifax will provide you with free credit file monitoring for one year.

 

[LifeHiscost]

4 hours ago, Gregory Matthews said:

Equifax has announced that the Social Security numbers and other sensitive information for some 143,000,000 Americans has been stolen.  This means that these people my be subject to criminals using their IDs in criminal activities.

Equifax has established an Internet sit where one may go to determine if they are one who has had their information stolen. That site is:

www.equifaxsecurity23017.com

To check, go to that website, enter your last name and the last 6 numbers of your Social Security number and you will be informed as to whether or not you are one of the affected people.

The information that has been stolen includes:

*  Social security number

*  Drivers license number

*  Birth date

*  Address

Equifax will provide you with free credit file monitoring for one year.

 

Thank you Gregory. I appreciate your help and hoping for the best.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no Law.… Galatians 5

13And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love....1 Corinthians 13

God is Love!~Jesus saves! 

[Outta Here]

Greg, I visited this site and found that my husband's, my daughter's and my identity may have been impacted. Oddly enough, my grandmother's and my son's were not. I will register us all for the TrustedID credit monitoring as soon as the site will let me proceed. Is there anything more I can do to help protect our identity?

[B/W Photodude]

While Equinox denies it, some have reported that you will lose rights by signing up with TrustedID. Also, some have reported that entering random information can result in getting a notice that information is compromised. It is thought that Equinox is trying to get more customers by false information for their TrustedID services. I suspect one should be careful and consider other options in dealing with this event.

[Outta Here]

Thanks both of you! I will look into both Identity Safe and the other sites!

[JoeMo]

A couple of corrections/updates to the above:

1. We consumers are not the customers of Equifax; we are their product.  They sell the info they collect on us consumers to others - that's how they make the majority of their money.

2. You lose no rights by signing up for Trusted ID.  Equifax has taken all references to agreeing not to sue Equifax.

3.  What makes people think that their info being stolen from Equifax is anything new?  There are hundreds - if not thousands - of companies that make a living off of acquiring and selling information about you.  How many of them have been hacked?   Any more, you don't need to worry about if you will be hacked (you will be) or when you will be hacked (you probably already are); you need to worry about when you know you have been hacked.  Example is Equifax.  Data has been stolen from them over the past several months; they just let us know about it last week.

[Gregory Matthews]

Aubrey:  I do not have answers any more than anyone else.  We are all in the same boat.

I guess the bottom line is that each of us will need to study the issue and make a personal decision as to what we are going to do.

 

[Gregory Matthews]

By the way, some people living in Canada were affected by this theft of data.

 

[Gregory Matthews]

Early on  it was reported that by signing up for the protection provided by Equifax, you would lose legal rights, including the right to litigate if you sustain a loss.

Equifax is reporting today that they have removed all such language from the agreement and it states that by signing up for their protection you will retain full legal rights, to include the right to sue them if you sustain a loss.

Update: Since publication of this story, Equifax has updated the language on its website (www.equifaxsecurity2017.com) to make it clear that no consumer will be required to waive his or her legal right to a class action lawsuit as a condition for enrolling in the company's free credit monitoring and identify theft protection products.

 

 

[Gregory Matthews]

Yes, it is similar to the protection offered by the site you provided.

That company charges a fee, as does the one you cited.  But, Equifax is paying that fee for the stated time period if you sign up through them.  And, now if you so sign up you will not lose any legal rights.

 

[Gregory Matthews]

They collect and sell information that is available to the public.  They do it very well.  You would be astounded by the public information that is available about you.  They just gather it up and put it in one place.

 

[Gregory Matthews]

The following may contain further information from Equifax:

September 7, 2017 — Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting approximately 143 million U.S. consumers. Criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files. Based on the company’s investigation, the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017. The company has found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax’s core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases.

The information accessed primarily includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. In addition, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 U.S. consumers, and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers, were accessed. As part of its investigation of this application vulnerability, Equifax also identified unauthorized access to limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents. Equifax will work with UK and Canadian regulators to determine appropriate next steps. The company has found no evidence that personal information of consumers in any other country has been impacted.

Equifax discovered the unauthorized access on July 29 of this year and acted immediately to stop the intrusion. The company promptly engaged a leading, independent cybersecurity firm that has been conducting a comprehensive forensic review to determine the scope of the intrusion, including the specific data impacted. Equifax also reported the criminal access to law enforcement and continues to work with authorities. While the company’s investigation is substantially complete, it remains ongoing and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

 

“This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do. I apologize to consumers and our business customers for the concern and frustration this causes,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Richard F. Smith. “We pride ourselves on being a leader in managing and protecting data, and we are conducting a thorough review of our overall security operations. We also are focused on consumer protection and have developed a comprehensive portfolio of services to support all U.S. consumers, regardless of whether they were impacted by this incident.”

Equifax has established a dedicated website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, to help consumers determine if their information has been potentially impacted and to sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection. The offering, called TrustedID Premier, includes 3-Bureau credit monitoring of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit reports; copies of Equifax credit reports; the ability to lock and unlock Equifax credit reports; identity theft insurance; and Internet scanning for Social Security numbers – all complimentary to U.S. consumers for one year. The website also provides additional information on steps consumers can take to protect their personal information. Equifax recommends that consumers with additional questions visit www.equifaxsecurity2017.com or contact a dedicated call center at 866-447-7559 (Click here for an important update on call times due to Hurricane Irma), which the company set up to assist consumers. The call center is open every day (including weekends) from 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. Eastern time.

In addition to the website, Equifax will send direct mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or dispute documents with personal identifying information were impacted. Equifax also is in the process of contacting U.S. state and federal regulators and has sent written notifications to all U.S. state attorneys general, which includes Equifax contact information for regulator inquiries.

Equifax has engaged a leading, independent cybersecurity firm to conduct an assessment and provide recommendations on steps that can be taken to help prevent this type of incident from happening again.

CEO Smith said, “I’ve told our entire team that our goal can’t be simply to fix the problem and move on. Confronting cybersecurity risks is a daily fight. While we’ve made significant investments in data security, we recognize we must do more. And we will.”

 

[Gregory Matthews]

NOTE:  This is a 2-step process.  First one contacts the website to determine whether or not their information has potentially been compromised.  Normally this response is immediate.    At this time, one is given a date on which to complete the 2nd step.

Due to the massive numbers of people involved some computer lock ups have occurred in which the computer failed to properly log on to the 1st or 2nd step.  I called the Call Center at the number listed above and immediately spoke with a person.  I was asked to complete the process at a later time, which I have successfully done.

While Equifax may believe that 143 million people may have been compromised, more millions of more people are engaging Equifax  in order to ask questions and to determine whether or not they were involved.  This is just a massive situation.

I believe that it is especially problematic for the people who have had their credit card information stolen.