Posted on 09/08/2017 12:20:07 PM PDT by DFG
Credit reporting agency Equifax reported a massive security breach on Thursday. The breach may have exposed Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and other important personal information that has left 143 million US consumers vulnerable to ID theft.
Equifax immediately offered a complimentary ID-theft monitoring program called TrustedID. However, blowback ensued quickly on Friday as the TrustedID terms of service require users to waive their right to sue or join a class action lawsuit to receive the monitoring.
An Equifax spokesperson said the waiver “applies to the free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection products, and not the cybersecurity incident.”
‘The language is broad’
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
As incontinent as they are with our information, perhaps a name-change is called for.
EquiLax...
I started applying for the TrustedID service, then had second thoughts, and decided to wait for more public info.
I scanned the waiver, and I agree with Equifax, it did seem like it was referenced only to the Identity Theft products.
But, I would still advise everyone affected to try not to panic, and wait another week or two before applying for TrustedID, which requests all the same information that just got stolen from us!
What I wanted to know was if I was one of the people, whose data was compromised. They asked me to input my last name and the last six digits of my social security number, saying that was what they needed to see if I was potentially vulnerable.
Well guess what. The gave me a date at which to sign up for their credit monitoring plan and other stuff “completely free” for a limited period of time.
They never said if my data had been lost to the cyber crooks.
After I thought about it their approach sounds like a marketing scheme to get people to sing up for credit monitoring services at a fee when the “initial period is over.”
They seem very slimy. Not sure I want anything to do with them, but I know that everything from auto insurance to car loans to even potential employers run credit checks on people.
Sounds like they’re trying legal tricks to avoid taking actual responsibility/accountability.
I went to their website this morning. It said my info was hacked and gave a sign up date for enrolling in the free credit monitoring 4 days from now. I decided to do a 90 day fraud alert in the mean time..
Equifax immediately offered a complimentary ID-theft monitoring program called TrustedID. However, blowback ensued quickly on Friday as the TrustedID terms of service require users to waive their right to sue or join a class action lawsuit to receive the monitoring.An Equifax spokesperson said the waiver “applies to the free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection products, and not the cybersecurity incident.”
Slimy?
I posted this earlier today on a different Equifax thread.
***
These folks are dirty.
I have some 36+ years in IT dealing with them.
Background:
Many decades ago Equifax was busted making up crap on people.
Employees were told to dig up dirt on people.
The employees were so pressured to make their mandatory quotas of dirt they just started making crap up are putting it in the individuals files.
Not sure I trust a company with this much personal data, when their CISO has their degrees in Music.
https://www.boardroominsiders.com/executive-profiles/1006308/Equifax,-Inc./Susan-Mauldin
How did they manage to become one of "The Three" credit reporting agencies? I was an I.D. theft victim a few weeks ago, and now I suspect Equifax's poor security may have been where it started.
I suspect this is going to produce the mother of all class action suits.
Until they offer to pay me for my time to constantly check my credit, necessary because of their incompetence, no dice.
And, by the way, one year is not nearly long enough. It needs to be for the rest of my life.
If they go bankrupt providing this, so be it. It is their mistake, not mine.
Why would you sign up for “Free” advice on ID protection from a company that can’t protect your ID? Duh.
There are about 350 million people in the USA, this essentially affects every single household in America!
I demand a Congressional investigation and jail time for these this gross corporate malfeasance!
I’m just going to send them a notice letter that they will be held fully responsible for any losses incurred due to the breach, including i and spouses premium time rate (because you end up having to deal with this crap on your non-work time) for all work on our end involved with recovering losses or correcting information.
If you send something like this save a copy and send it certified mail, return receipt requested.
It’s their licensed privledge to conduct this business and they have a fiduciary duty to secure the information they have accumulated. They are fully liable for all losses related to negligence in handling this. Be very careful not to inadvertently waive any of your rights in this cluster****.
Im not a lawyer, don’t construe this as legal advice...
I notice on the Equifax website that they only list about 4 states (”If you are a Maryland resident...”) for inquiries. Does that mean that only people from those 4 states are the ones involved in the breach?
Here’s Clark Howard’s (Atlanta-based “consumer ripoff expert”) take on this...
Equifax breach: How to protect yourself from what’s coming next
Alex Thomas Sadler Clark.com
2:09 p.m Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 Business and Money news
BUSINESS
The latest cybersecurity attack is being called the “worst data breach in the history of the modern era,” according to money expert Clark Howard.
Equifax, one of the nation’s three main credit reporting agencies, announced this week it was the victim of a major hack that exposed the personal information of 143 million U.S. consumers — or two-thirds of all Americans with credit reports.
According to Equifax, hackers exploited a security vulnerability in a U.S.-based application to gain access to consumers’ personal files. The company has not yet said which application or which vulnerability was the source of the unauthorized breach.
In the world of hacks, scams and data breaches — this is about as bad as it gets.
Hackers were able to gain access to consumers’ names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in some cases, driver’s license and credit card numbers.
Anyone impacted by the breach is now at risk of identity theft and fraud — as any piece of this personal information can be sold to criminals who could then use it to open credit cards, take out loans, make purchases or even drain your bank accounts.
So what can you do?
Don’t sign up for Equifax’s bogus monitoring service
In its statement about the breach, Equifax announced that it’s offering consumers the option to sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection.
It may sound like a great offer — but the company that just exposed all of your most personal and sensitive information is now going to protect you from identity theft?
DON’T COUNT ON IT.
The company won’t even begin offering these services for at least another week anyway.
On top of that, when you sign up, you give up your right to sue, join a class-action suit, or benefit from any class-action settlement.
However, you can still sue over the original hack — just not the monitoring service.
Why you need to freeze your credit
So how can you protect your information?
The only way to truly protect yourself is with a credit freeze.
Lets say your information was exposed and criminals do try to open new lines of credit in your name — well, they won’t be able to if your credit file is frozen.
A credit freeze seals your credit reports and provides a personal identification number (PIN) that only you know and can use to temporarily “thaw” your credit when legitimate applications for credit and services need to be processed. So even if criminals try to use your info, they won’t be able to actually do anything with it.
And this goes for anyone, not just those impacted directly by this breach.
Here’s a state-by-state guide on how to freeze your credit
What’s next: Beware of related phishing & other scams
A hack of this magnitude will undoubtedly impact millions of American consumers in some way or another.
Criminals will use every tactic they’ve got to take advantage of this situation. With so many Americans worried about whether their information was exposed and if they are at risk, crooks are going to tap into that fear in order to trick you into handing over your personal information.
If your information was not exposed, you still may receive a fake email, text or phone call from a criminal offering to help or asking for your information to either determine whether you were affected by the Equifax hack or to help you protect yourself.
But even if you fall for one of these scams, with a credit freeze in place, the criminals won’t be able to carry out fraud in your name.
That’s why setting up a credit freeze with all three credit bureaus is absolutely necessary!
This data breach extends far beyond any incident we’ve seen in a very long time, so it’s crucial that you take steps to protect yourself.
With scams related to the hack expected to pop up everywhere, here are some tips to help you protect yourself, your money and your identity:
Be wary of unexpected emails containing links or attachments: If you receive an unexpected email claiming to be from your bank or other company that has your personal information, don’t click on any of the links or attachments. It could be a scam. Instead, log in to your account separately to check for any new notices.
Call the company directly: If you aren’t sure whether an email notice is legit, call the company directly about the information sent via email to find out if it is real and/or if there is any urgent information you should know about.
If you do end up on a website that asks for your personal information, make sure it is a secure website, which will have “https” at the beginning (“s” indicates secure).
Look out for grammar and spelling errors: Scam emails often contain typos and other errors — which is a big red flag that it probably didn’t come from a legitimate source.
Never respond to a text message from a number you don’t recognize: This could also make any information stored in your phone vulnerable to hackers. Do some research to find out who and where the text came from.
Don’t call back unknown numbers: If you get a missed call on your cell phone from a number you don’t recognize, don’t call it back. Here’s what you need to know about this phone scam.
How???
I’m sure they own a few politicians!!
I froze my credit some years ago when the fed gov sent me a letter about a breach.
Dollars to donuts hackers got my info from data I gave because of the clearance I needed when I installed and configged a bunch of computers back in the 1980’s at the IRS.
The IRS did a total soup to nuts tech refresh of their data centers/systems and I handled the Atlanta service center.
Freeze your credit. It’s free with a couple and nominal with one.
I will check with a friend over there to confirm.
I got the “ might be compromised “ message. What a PIA. I might just sign up with Life Lock and be done with it. Idiots at Equafax...
Had ID theft not long after quitting LifeL because of money problems...yes, short on money.....long on med bills. Very suspicious.
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