Equifax’s Data Breach

On September 7, 2017, Equifax announced their systems suffered a data breach that impacts 143 million U.S. consumers.

The stolen information primarily includes names, addresses, dates of birth, driver license numbers, and Social Security numbers. In addition, 209,000 people had their credit card numbers taken and 182,000 consumers had information on their credit bureau disputes captured. The scale of this breach means that every Social Security Number in the U.S. in conjunction with the associated name must be presumed to be public knowledge.

To help you understand what has happened and how to determine if you are personally impacted by Equifax’s security breach, we are providing the following links to government and Equifax resources.

• Equifax has established a webpage notifying the public of their security breach, explaining what happened. They include identity theft prevention tips and government contact information. https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/consumer-notice/
• Equifax has answered some frequently asked questions about the breach. https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/frequently-asked-questions/
• Equifax has created a way for you to check to see if your information has been compromised. https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/am-i-impacted/
• Equifax is offering credit protection. You may enroll at https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/what-can-i-do/
• The Federal Trade Commission has also published information on the Equifax Data Breach. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do?utm_source=slider
• The government has a site https://www.identitytheft.gov/Info-Lost-or-Stolen providing guidance specific to the Equifax Breach and the information that was lost.
• The government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has also created a website to help victims of the Equifax Breach. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/identity-theft-protection-following-equifax-data-breach/
• MoneyWatch has compiled information to help you understand how to protect your credit rating. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/equifax-data-breach-how-to-protect-your-credit-rating/
• By law, every person has the right to obtain one free credit report every 12 months. There is only one website authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
• Also, don’t forget that we offer Identity monitoring to all of our members through the Member Security Center. https://www.membersecuritycenter.com/