Don’t Be Fooled by Phone Scammers Posing As Equifax
As if the Equifax data breach, revealing personal information to 143 million people, was not enough, scammers are now taking advantage of the confusion and anxiety affecting customers. If you get a call from someone claiming to be part of Equifax, don’t believe it .
Lisa Weintraub Schifferle, a FTC attorney, posted an article on the FTC blog warning customers of the threat of two-faced phone calls from people claiming to be associated with Equifax. Stop, Schifferle wrote. Don’t tell them anything. They are not from Equifax. This is a scam. Equifax will not call you suddenly. ” Good to know.
Schifferle also offered tips and tricks to avoid being fooled by scammers and impostors:
- Do not provide personal information. Do not provide personal or financial information unless you initiated the call and called the correct phone number.
- Don’t trust the caller ID. Fraudsters can fake their numbers to make it appear as if they are calling from a specific company, even if they are not.
- If you receive a call from the robot, hang up. Do not press 1 to talk to an operator in real time, or any other key to remove your number from the list. If you answer by pressing any number, it will likely lead to an increase in the number of robot calls.
If you do get a call, go to the FTC Complaints Assistant page to report it.
Equifax informs consumers about the status of data breaches on its cybersecurity page . While you shouldn’t expect a call from the credit bureau, you can always call Equifax yourself at 866-447-7559 if you have further questions or concerns.
If someone calls you from Equifax to verify your account, it is a scam | Consumer