Feel kind of paranoid asking this, but how safe is the Equifax https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/potential-impact/ “Check Potential Impact” link? Is there another way to find out that doesn’t involve working with them?
This sounds like a dumb question, but if I get credit scores every month from three sources, is that a reliable indication that my credit is not compromised–I don’t mean this minute, but going forward?(And yes, I understand there’s a lag time here; just as a rough indicator?)
I get alerts within a day or two if something has changed- like an inquiry or new credit line.
I’m not freezing my credit but I’m checking diligently for alerts.
@garland - I don’t think so. Getting your score won’t tell you if someone opened an account in your name. You want to actually see if there has been any activity, whether it impacts your score or not.
Put it this way: it only works based on data already in their system. And if you have any kind of history, they already have the data – including your complete SS #.
If you are checking your credit or credit score regularly, that’s a good indication about the status of your credit – but the breach is far more than simply credit. For example, if your credit card number has been compromised, someone could use your card fraudulently. You’d likely become alert to the fraud , notify the bank and change your credit card number --but your credit score wouldn’t reflect a difference until that happened. And sometimes credit card thieves are smart enough to keep their usage low and under the radar, so the credit card holder simply pays their monthly bill without noticing that there is an extra $15 for internet app downloads they never signed up for.
Since we keep our SSNs for life, we need to stop trying to shut the barn door after the horse has bolted. SSNs s need to be treated as public information like dates of birth and addresses, and we need to stop relying on it for authentication and non-repudiation.
Something like what @roethlisburger is saying is going to have to happen going forward. For like half of all Americans, their SS numbers are, just about, public information. More than that, too.
Some people had driver’s license numbers breached. No way to be sure. Someone could use that to get a new DL in a different state.
Maybe they should just chip us like a pet. 
Joking, kind of. Yeah, that would be creepy.
One company already chipped their employees- voluntarily.
A combination of iris or retinal scans with fingerprint scans would be enough to uniquely identify people. There’s no need to chip us.
I’ve spent a decent amount of time trying to get retinal scans from livestock. I can only image the time and expense involved with scanning people. Interesting to think about. Maybe they would stand still better. Doubtful
Just started reading this thread and I’d like to know whether there’s a way to know whether my information has been affected by this data breach?
DNA, my friends. Twins will have a problem though.
Just the thought of that gives me the heebie jeebies.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/03/start-up-epicenter-implants-employees-with-microchips.html
I bet that chips can be cloned… like credit cards.
The only saving grace about this whole thing is that nobody is immune, including all members of Congress, the President, his cabinet, his aids, and his family. Lawmakers are generally very slow to act when consumers are adversely affected by business practices, but very quick to act when they are personally affected. I look forward to massive identity theft amongst the lawmakers, as that’s what we plebes need to happen for stricter protections of our personally identifying information.
The Europeans have GDPR scheduled to take effect next year, while in the US it’s basically the Wild West with a patchwork of state and local laws (see all the confusion in this thread about how much credit freeze costs vary by state).
@TiggerDad go here: https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/
Click “enroll” on the bottom. Click “begin enrollment” on the next page and enter your data to see if you’re affected.
They have now waived the credit freeze fee, if your state allowed them to have one. To sign up for TrustedID if you’re affected by the breach, is free. A credit freeze would be a separate step.
If you used the page to check whether your data was comprised, and got a message that your information was not impacted, I urge you to try it several times.
There are multiple reports of people getting different results when they try it multiple times. This happened with my W - the first time it said she was not impacted, now it says she is. And
And “we believe that your personal information may have been impacted by this incident” - IOW, there is no way to know for sure at this time.
I will be freezing our credit. It’s not a cure, but at least it’s something.
Equifax’s web site now says they are generating random PINs when you freeze.
And - if your brokerage companies or banks allow two-factor authentication, I strongly urge you to set it up. And if they have non-email and non-text methods, even better.
For example, for my Schwab account I got a little widget that generates a 6 digit code every 30 seconds, and you need the correct code to log in. For my Fidelity account, they give you a piece of software that runs on your computer or phone which does the same thing.
If you have substantial amounts of money at a place that doesn’t support two-factor authentication, consider moving your money to someplace that does.
You may also want to consider adding two-factor auth to your primary email account (or whatever account you have set up at your financial institutions). While this is a pain at times, it makes it much more difficult for the bad guys to be able to do password resets on your accounts. Gmail supports this, not sure who else might.