Posted on 09/18/2017 4:23:10 PM PDT by Jagermonster
SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS Hackers broke into the credit-report company Equifax and stole personal data on up to 143 million Americans. Individual actions can help control the damage. And collective action may lead to new safeguards.
The Equifax breach, which occurred over 2-1/2 months, compromised personal data, including Social Security numbers. The incursion affects three-quarters of US adults with a credit score. Here’s a concise look at what happened, the variety of steps that consumers can take, and the pressure for new steps to guard credit data.
Q: What happened?
From mid-May through July, hackers exploited a weakness in the software of Equifax, a credit agency, to steal the private information of some 143 million people. It is the largest known breach in the United States in terms of sheer numbers, and it involves what the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) calls “the mother lode” of personal data: full names, addresses, birth dates, and Social Security numbers. In some cases, driver’s licenses, credit-card numbers, and other records were also exposed. With that data, identity thieves can apply for credit cards, take out loans, and even file for federal tax refunds – all in another person’s name.
On July 30, a day after observing suspicious activity on its network, Equifax closed the breach.
Q: What should consumers do right now?
Identity theft experts say the breach is too serious to ignore. At a minimum, consumers can find out if their information is at risk by going to Equifax’s special website – equifaxsecurity2017.com/potential-impact – or calling 866-447-7559. They then can request a copy of their credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com from all three credit agencies (the other two being Experian and TransUnion). [***]
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Went to the “potential impact” page, and entered my last name and the last 6 digits of my SS#.
Page came back and said that I may have been impacted, and to press “continue” for further assistance.
That next page required that I enter full name and full social security and other information which I NEVER divulge other the internet. DON’T GO THERE! (I didn’t).
hackers, eh?
how about, Equifax installed a Microsoft patch, but left the password as ‘password’ after the install
BMK
Same reaction from me. Plus, that wasn’t even an Equifax web page.
Bkml
I dont trust any of the firms.
Life lock uses equifax to assist with monitoring. How good dies that make you feel?
This has gone too far. It is out of control.
They have information gathered on me without my explicit consent. If they have compromised that information through negligence, then they own everything it will cost me to correct their error and a whole bunch more.
Here’s the thing computer security is the last thing a software project looks at when it should be the first thing. In the late 1990’s to mid-2000’s security wasn’t even a concern for most corporations. This mindset, while slowly changing, has carried forward and will continue to do so for many many years. No computer is safe, no website is safe. If it was created by man, it can be defeated by man. Remember that well as it was told to me in my first cyber security class in the 90’s. It still rings true today.
143 million people hacked. Over half of the entire adult population of the US! What a FUBAR. Somebody better hang by the short hairs for this one.
As I see it ...
If we have online banking accounts, what stops the bad guys from taking these identifying numbers and hijacking an account and then withdrawing large amounts of my monies ?
How can we secure these accounts NOW ? You can be sure that we all blindly agreed NOT to hold these firms responsible should such actions occur.
Even our local banks and accounts seem to ‘report’ to these 3 credit agencies.
This is out of control.
And then you have to agree to mediation to resolve any disputes you may have with Equifax, at which point I bailed.
I worked through their screens to sign up for the Equifax protection several days ago. They said they. Would send me an email to complete the process. Waiting, . . . . Waiting . . . . Waiting. . . .
If your info was hacked, your SSN is already out there.
If Equfax knows my stuff was hacked, then why do I have to go to some third party site and provide them my DOB/SS#/etc. again? Equifax knows all that stuff... why don't they just automatically sign up all of us who are affected for the monitoring service?
This is a bad situation.
at the very least, the agreement (terms of use) seems very lopsided in favor of the trustedid corporation.
https://tid-uat9.trustedid.com/premier/terms-of-use.php
it is odd that CS monitor does not warn readers about the potential implications of agreeing implicitly to the lopsided terms of use.
IANAL, but it seems like they are harvesting information and at the same time relieving themselves and a potentially infinite number of third party “suppliers” from responsibility...
Consumer Reports recommends signing up for trustedID premier anyways
https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/what-consumers-need-to-know-about-the-equifax-data-breach/
[???]
CNBC says not to proceed by clicking the continue button
3 reasons breach victims might not want Equifax credit monitoring
Kelli B. Grant | @kelligrant
Published 2:49 PM ET Fri, 8 Sept 2017 Updated 4:44 PM ET Tue, 12 Sept 2017
and a lawyer says that the fine print terms of contract are unenforceable and should be removed from their website.
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