Yes, fraudulent tax returns is concerning to me too. New credit lines can not be opened if the “credit is hidden” with a freeze.
I imagine IRS will institute some verification system against fraudulent returns. If not,we could all file the returns early. Aren’t there something else they can do other than tax return?
They got access to SS numbers, birth dates and the like. It isn’t just financial information. They have what they need to clone your identity, create medical ids, file tax returns etc.
^That’s what I was afraid of.
All three of my kids plus H appear to be amongst those whose data has been compromised. We will advise the kids to freeze their credit. It’s frustrating that they will have to deal with the consequences of this for years to come. Someone could use their info 50 years from now.
Now fugitives can have an identity of a living person! They get to choose from 143 million samples.
Apologies if this has already been posted and I missed it, from the updates on the Equifax website:
“2). NO WAIVER OF RIGHTS FOR THIS CYBER SECURITY INCIDENT
In response to consumer inquiries, we have made it clear that the arbitration clause and class action waiver included in the Equifax and TrustedID Premier terms of use does not apply to this cybersecurity incident.”"
I’m sure due to the pushback and criticism on the internet.
I’ve read that the EquiFax data breach info is somewhat meaningless. Someone reported that they put in the name “Trump” and six random numbers and were advised that they might be compromised.
So I think at present there are no sure ways to know.
Yeah, read the same.
Has anyone had it come back saying your data hasn’t been breached? Or is this just spitting out a “positive” for data breach for everyone? If so, what a freaking joke.
Yes. One of my family members got a clean bill.
@doschicos, my youngest daughter and I came out clean but I believe the phrasing was something like, “not likely compromised”, or otherwise indefinite.
Yes. D and I came back with the “yes-ish” message but S came back with a no. Both kids had a (Direct) student loan as their only credit account so I’m not sure why one did and one didn’t. D applied for an Old Navy card once, that might be why.
S message: “we believe that your personal information was not impacted by this incident.”
D nad I message: “we believe that your personal information may have been impacted by this incident.”
Been going thru and freezing credit. Since I manage all of my elderly mom’s stuff I went ahead and added a freeze for her at all three bureaus.
Now, I want to go back and do the same thing for me. Transition will not let me create an account for myself because it believes I already have and account. Um, no. My MOTHER has an account. My SSN, address, DOB is very different from mom. So, I call the customer service number.
Was actually surprised the hold time wasn’t too terrible - under 10 minutes. But, turns out I am now talking to someone in the Philippines! They can’t tell me why the system is acting the way it is. But, in order to put a freeze in place for myself I need to give the agent all the personal info, including a credit card.
It just felt so wrong.
@dietz199 Is there another computer you can use or try deleting cookies and see if it works? Maybe it’s recognizing your computer?
But, yeah, seems like you have to risk another data breach to prevent this one. Not good.
@dietz199 – can you open a new browser and/or clear history?
I have had a freeze on my credit for ten years but never got around to doing so for my children. Just tried. Equifax processed, issued PIN, but did not ask for my CC, so I don’t know if they are waiving the charge due to their debacle or if the freeze is even in place.
Experian shows up as a charge on my CC (pending) but could not complete the transaction. Same with Transunion. Should have done this as soon as each was 18 years old.
I used another browser and had the same results.
But wait…there’s more…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/your-money/identity-theft/equifax-breach-credit-freeze.html
So the first 6 digits of their security pin issued since this epic fail are a hackers dream. 9/date of request/17/then a random 3 digit number.
Sigh…Forrest was right, stupid is as stupid does…
And yes, they are waiving their $10 fee. How kind.
Dumb question but I’d feel better asking it.
Existing credit card accounts remain the same and usable if I do the credit freeze, right?
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@MACmiracle – the only effect on existing credit cards is if you have a card where you would like to have your spending limit increased. Some CC issuers will not do that w/o running a credit check. Otherwise, everything operates as it always has.
One thing I do not know is if there will be any issue if one tries to buy a new cell phone and have its purchase amortized over 24 months (or whatever deal the phone carriers are offering these days). I don’t think a credit check is pulled for that.
@dietz199 --Transunion allowed customer to create own ten digit PIN, but could not process my request.
Saw the article you posted a few hours ago. As I commented on another site, this will be a B-school case study on how not to manage a crisis.
Experian allowed me to create my own PIN also.