Responding to the Equifax Breach

This document, and the steps given, in no way implies any guarantee of not being targeted or losing money to an identity theft incident. It is not an all-inclusive list of prevention strategies to protect yourself. It is only what I did for my own personal accounts and is provided for informational purposes only.

What I did in response to the Equifax security breach.
• Changed all passwords to bank accounts, Credit cards Emails accounts etc
• Utilize duel verification if available.
• Use strong passwords 8 more characters/numbers/special symbols/CAPS. The longer the more secure the password.
• Don’t keep large amounts of money in checking accounts or accounts that the numbers have been disclosed for direct deposit, ACH instructions etc. Only keep the monthly needs in those accounts and the rest in secure saving accounts
• Be vary wary of any emails alerting you to verify info or scaring you that you MUST act. Etc. scamming and phishing emails are sure to increase.
• Checked if I was affected by the breach
Go to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com. Click on “Potential Impact” then “ check Potential Impact”

If affected your personal data has been compromised. ie SSN, DOB, possibly credit cards etc. You need to take action to protect your data. Once your information is compromised, it is compromised indefinitely.

If not affected you do still need to update passwords and be proactive on protecting your information and even still consider the following steps to make attempts to protect yourself.

I was affected so I therefore:

1. Created a login (username/password) on Experian.com to check my credit report(free)
2. Review your credit report monthly to look for any suspicious accounts or activity.
3. Signed up a credit monitoring service. Google reviews on the best offerings and pick one that meets your needs.
4. Placed a 90 day Fraud Alert with one of the credit reporting agencies that is communicated to the other agencies. This must be reactivated every 90 days. I called the TransUnion automated line.

How to Place a Fraud Alert on Your Credit Report
Attaching a fraud alert to your credit report is easy. All you have to do is contact the fraud units of the three major credit bureaus. Once you do, the following will happen: whenever you — or possibly an identity thief — attempt to open a new credit account in your name, such as a new credit card, cell phone or auto loan, the lender will be required to:

Use reasonable policies and procedures to verify your identity by contacting you.
Refuse to open the account if your identity cannot be verified.

What You Need to Do:
Contact one of the fraud units of the major credit reporting agencies:

Equifax
Consumer Fraud Unit
P.O. Box 105496
Atlanta, GA 30348-5496
(800) 997-2493
www.equifax.com

Experian
Information Systems
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-2104
(888)-397-3742
www.experian.com

TransUnion
Fraud Victim Assistance Division
P.O. 2000
Chester, PA 19022
(800) 680-7289
www.transunion.com

Fraud Alerts are active for 90 days and need to be renewed. You should get some confirmations that they have been made active.

As a side note, after placing my fraud alerts, I later made a change on my cell phone account that required a credit approval and had to go through a verification process before they could continue. So I got to see the process at work to protect your credit and identity.

Hope this is helpful in getting you started in actively monitoring your credit and accounts. Unfortunately with the digital age and data becoming a valuable commodity, we as consumers need to take further precautions to protect ourselves. Just running antivirus and malware scans are not going to cut it anymore.