What to Do If You Are Affected by Equifax Hack [updated]
Equifax’s “security incident” earlier this week affected 143 million Americans. This is a huge number of people, which means that the chances that you or someone you know were hurt are pretty high. The Equifax website has even yielded positive results for fake social security numbers at one point or another.
If you were one of the millions affected by the attack, you need to figure out what to do next. CNET has put together a pretty good step-by-step course for people. Here are some of his suggestions:
Register with TrustedID
Equifax offers a free year of TrustedID for everyone. Credit Monitoring Service “includes 3 credit monitoring bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion; Copies of Equifax credit reports; the ability to block and unblock Equifax credit reports; identity theft insurance; and Internet search for social security numbers. “
Equifax encountered a bit of backlash on social media when it made the offer: firstly, because you have to wait to register on a specific date that the company does not plan to remind you of, and secondly, because the clause is in the site’s terms of service the hacking company added an arbitration clause that seemed to imply that you waive your right to sue the hacking company if you used it.
The clause really only applies to suing the site itself, not a hack, but the company has added a waiver feature on Friday that allows you to waive your waiver of your right to file a claim by sending a letter.
The tool on the site that tells you that you have been hacked can be broken right now too, so this is it.
Check your credit
In fact, this violation happened three months ago, so there is a chance that your information is already being used. Check your credit report and make sure nothing out of the ordinary is happening.
Freeze your loan
CNET is offering to freeze your credit , which we also did last week. If you block your loan, then anyone who wants to use your loan to open an account will need a special PIN.
If you are not planning on making any major purchases or opening new credit cards anytime soon, this can be a good preventative step to keep your credit safe.
Set fraud alert
Setting up a fraud alert is another thing that will make using your credit a little hassle, but it can protect you. If you’ve set up a fraud alert, then the company will need to verify your identity before they can open an account in your name.
You create it by contacting a credit bureau (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) and it is valid for 90 days.
Keep track of your taxes
CNET provides a good reason to be careful when filing this year’s tax return. Sometimes people use personal information to file false tax returns in order to obtain refunds. This means that if you file taxes after them, you may receive a message from the IRS that your taxes have already been filed.
If you can, don’t forget to file your tax return earlier this year.
Updated, 19:30 09/10/17: The number of people affected by the hacking is estimated at 143 million. An earlier version of the post incorrectly stated that it was 143,000 people.