Cybersecurity is a major concern, and recent data breaches heighten the importance of protecting one’s privacy and data security. Following is a summary of the latest data breach at Equifax and our recommendations to reduce the risk that someone can obtain and use your personal identity and data.
Equifax Incident
On Thursday, September 7th, the credit reporting agency Equifax announced it had been the target of a cybersecurity breach that could potentially impact 143 million Americans. Criminals accessed files that included the names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and even some driver’s license numbers of Equifax customers. A more detailed summary can be found here: https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com
Equifax is giving all consumers the ability to check whether they have been impacted by this breach and the option to enroll in its credit monitoring service, TrustedID Premier, for free for one year regardless of whether you were impacted by the breach. TrustedID Premier includes:
- Copies of your Equifax Credit Report
- Credit file monitoring at all three major credit bureaus
- The ability to lock your Equifax Credit Report
- Social Security number monitoring
- Identity theft insurance
To check whether you have been impacted and enroll in TrustedID Premier, simply follow these steps:
- Visit https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/enroll/ and click the red button “Begin Enrollment” on the left side.
- Type in your last name and the last 6 digits of your Social Security number.
- The next screen indicates whether Equifax believes your information may have been impacted; click “Enroll” if you wish to sign up for TrustedID Premier for free.
- The next screen may show you your enrollment date for TrustedID Premier. If so, return to https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/enroll/ on or after this enrollment date and click the red button “Continue Enrollment” on the right side of the page; otherwise, go directly to the next step.
- Follow the instructions as prompted, providing any additional information requested and a valid email address to finish enrollment.
- You will receive an email within a few days with a link to activate TrustedID Premier.
Freezing Your Credit and Other Tips for Protecting Your Identity
In the wake of this breach, The New York Times has also provided tips for protecting one’s information online in a variety of articles. Helpful tips include:
- Lock your credit reports at the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), either through a security freeze or another option provided by the agencies. This service locks your credit files and prevents the opening of new credit card accounts or loans unless you temporarily open your files to apply for new credit. Please be aware that you may be charged a fee for this service depending on the credit agency and the specific service requested. Fees tend to be one-time charges in the range of $5-$20.
- Equifax:
- File Lock – Complimentary for 1 year as part of TrustedID Premier (https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/enroll/).
- Security Freeze – Remains on your credit report indefinitely until you choose to permanently remove it. This service is not available while TrustedID Premier is active (https://www.freeze.equifax.com/).
- Experian:
- Security Freeze – Remains on your credit report indefinitely until you choose to permanently remove it (https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html).
- TransUnion:
- Security Freeze – Remains on your credit report indefinitely until you choose to permanently remove it (https://freeze.transunion.com/).
- TrueIdentity – Allows you to lock and unlock your credit report yourself. TransUnion charges no fees for this service. Please be aware that this service has fewer safeguards than Security Freeze; you are responsible for re-locking your credit report after unlocking, and there is no PIN necessary to unlock your credit report (https://www.transunion.com/product/trueidentity-free-identity-protection).
- Equifax:
- Set up Initial Fraud Alerts at the credit reporting agencies. This service is free and requires lenders to alert you if someone requests credit in your name. If you request Fraud Alerts at one agency, it is required to alert the other two (so you only have to sign up with one agency). Most Fraud Alerts last only 90 days but can be renewed on an ongoing basis.
- Review your credit report at least annually by obtaining it for free from this site: www.annualcreditreport.com. Be sure to use this official site and not others with similar names that companies use to try to sell you services.
- Change all passwords for websites that store any of your personal information, especially those related to your finances or health. Do not use the same password for multiple websites.
We at Edgemoor recommend all our clients take the above steps and begin monitoring any online accounts with personal identifying information for suspicious activity. We also urge everyone to be cautious regarding any suspicious requests received online, whether through a website or e-mail.
