Equifax customer information leak

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finjour
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Equifax customer information leak

Post by finjour »

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -customers

Equifax leaked a lot of personal information (Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers) between May and July 2017. I am planning on freezing my credit to protect myself.

Are there any other steps that can be taken to protect my identity in case my information was caught up in the leak?
Last edited by finjour on Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Ice-9
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Ice-9 »

If you have a Discover Card, their recent offer to monitor the dark web for members' social security numbers sounds good. I already had my credit frozen and recently signed up for the Discover offer. Not sure what action I'd take if Discover notifies me that my SS# is out there, but I guess it's good to know...

Edit to add link: https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/m ... nt-alerts/
jeffh19
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by jeffh19 »

Maybe it's time for some of us to start thinking about Lifelock?

I feel like this stuff is just going to get worse and worse. I've used nothing but cards for at least a decade and I've never really had an issue until recently. Got hit with a bunch iTunes charges like a lot of people did, just had a Lowe's credit card and bill show up in the mail and now I hear this.
jeffh19
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by jeffh19 »

Ice-9 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:52 pm If you have a Discover Card, their recent offer to monitor the dark web for members' social security numbers sounds good. I already had my credit frozen and recently signed up for the Discover offer. Not sure what action I'd take if Discover notifies me that my SS# is out there, but I guess it's good to know...

Edit to add link: https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/m ... nt-alerts/
Ya I wonder what can actually be done about it if so, other than just notifying the credit agencies.....who just got hacked themselves....lol

There isn't really a catch to signing up for that is there? Are they going to do a soft pull every day...or?

I feel like that doesn't seem totally legit, like the list of credit card numbers is just magically listed on an open website where discover can go in and look at it? And then what, copy and paste all of them into their site and be like uh oh the bad guys have your numbers!!!! Just doesn't seem like it would operate like that. Maybe they'd get the SS numbers from a list that they know have already been used/exposed????
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Ice-9
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Ice-9 »

jeffh19 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:54 pm Maybe it's time for some of us to start thinking about Lifelock?

I feel like this stuff is just going to get worse and worse. I've used nothing but cards for at least a decade and I've never really had an issue until recently. Got hit with a bunch iTunes charges like a lot of people did, just had a Lowe's credit card and bill show up in the mail and now I hear this.
Does Lifelock do anything that isn't already solved by freezing one's credit?

Searching Lifelock on this forum doesn't paint the most flattering picture of the service.
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Ice-9
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Ice-9 »

jeffh19 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:57 pm Ya I wonder what can actually be done about it if so, other than just notifying the credit agencies.....who just got hacked themselves....lol

There isn't really a catch to signing up for that is there? Are they going to do a soft pull every day...or?

I feel like that doesn't seem totally legit, like the list of credit card numbers is just magically listed on an open website where discover can go in and look at it? And then what, copy and paste all of them into their site and be like uh oh the bad guys have your numbers!!!! Just doesn't seem like it would operate like that. Maybe they'd get the SS numbers from a list that they know have already been used/exposed????
Well, if you freeze your credit, there's not even any reason to notify credit agencies. They'll already be refusing new credit applications in your name unless you do a temporary unfreeze.

I don't think there's a catch. Soft pulls aren't reported on your credit report and don't bother me, but I don't think that's required here.

According to the FAQ at the bottom of the Discover link above:
Discover wrote:How do these new alerts actually work?

We monitor a vast number of risky websites on the dark web – a hidden area of the Internet where stolen social security numbers can be traded or sold for the purposes of identity theft and fraud. This process is also called internet scanning or internet surveillance. If we find your information, we'll send you an alert and help you take action.
mnaspbh
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by mnaspbh »

finjour wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:46 pm https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -customers

Equifax leaked a lot of personal information (Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers) between May and July 2017. I am planning on freezing my credit to protect myself.

Is there any other steps that can be taken to protect my identity in case my information was caught up in the leak?
Signing up for identity theft protection from Equifax may not be the best idea...but they'll probably offer you a year of it for free as part of the inevitable class-action lawsuit settlement. I think I've had about 5 years of free "protection" from various agencies due to the many data thefts in which my personal information has leaked.

Other "identity theft protection" services typically charge a lot of money and either tell you that yep, your identity has been stolen and it's too late, or nope, you should have frozen your credit and then you wouldn't have needed to sign up with the service. There are none that actually stop identity theft before it happens--that's something they can't do. One service that claimed to the contrary had to pay $100M in fines due to deceptive advertising, and the CEO's public attempt to demonstrate how great the service was backfired when his identity was stolen at least 13 times despite the service. At best, the services may get your authorization to freeze your credit as part of the sign-up process, but you can do that on your own more cheaply.

At this point, I think everyone should assume that their full personal information is either already circulating on the dark web, or will be very soon. There's just no real incentive for companies to protect the information, and once it's out there, it circulates forever. Monitor your credit reports periodically, keep your credit frozen, keep up with your existing accounts so you can catch attempted fraudulent use, make sure you have two-factor authentication enabled on every account possible, don't ever reuse passwords or password variants across accounts.

Some people advocate trashing one's own credit rating to make one's identity less valuable to thieves, but that's a tad extreme, not to mention unlikely to be effective.
fposte
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by fposte »

They're already offering free enrollment in "Trusted ID Premier" for those involved. It's slightly weird, in that the way they tell you whether your info was involved or not is by telling you when you'd be allowed to enroll (for reasons I'm not clear on it's staggered by date).
Got_Milk2015
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Got_Milk2015 »

I wonder if those with frozen equifax accounts had their pin number (to unfreeze) compromised as well?
Whakamole
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Whakamole »

Ice-9 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:52 pm If you have a Discover Card, their recent offer to monitor the dark web for members' social security numbers sounds good. I already had my credit frozen and recently signed up for the Discover offer. Not sure what action I'd take if Discover notifies me that my SS# is out there, but I guess it's good to know...

Edit to add link: https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/m ... nt-alerts/
Thanks for the link :beer

Apparently I'm one of the 143 million impacted people. :oops:
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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

Brian Krebs has published an article about it Breach at Equifax May Impact 143M Americans. I am monitoring his blog to see if he recommends enrolling in the TrustedID Premier, a 3-bureau credit monitoring service (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) that is also operated by Equifax.

One of Brian's commenters has posted a link to a Bloomberg article Three Equifax Managers Sold Stock Before Cyber Hack Was Revealed. This can get really ugly.

Victoria
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susa
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by susa »

fposte wrote: ...slightly weird, in that the way they tell you whether your info was involved or not is by telling you when you'd be allowed to enroll (for reasons I'm not clear on it's staggered by date).
Got a future date with the instruction to return ON or After that date to the same web address.

The rest of our family got a simple message that said they were not impacted.
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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

jeffh19 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:54 pm Maybe it's time for some of us to start thinking about Lifelock?

I feel like this stuff is just going to get worse and worse. I've used nothing but cards for at least a decade and I've never really had an issue until recently. Got hit with a bunch iTunes charges like a lot of people did, just had a Lowe's credit card and bill show up in the mail and now I hear this.
Cyber breaches are indeed becoming worse, but LifeLock is not the answer. In general, your own monitoring of your credit reports, and possibly freezing your credit, work much better. But in this case, Equifax is offering a free service described here https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/ :
Equifax wrote:The offering, called TrustedID Premier, includes 3-Bureau credit monitoring of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit reports; copies of Equifax credit reports; the ability to lock and unlock Equifax credit reports; identity theft insurance; and Internet scanning for Social Security numbers – all complimentary to U.S. consumers for one year.
Victoria
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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

susa wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:43 pm
fposte wrote: ...slightly weird, in that the way they tell you whether your info was involved or not is by telling you when you'd be allowed to enroll (for reasons I'm not clear on it's staggered by date).
Got a future date with the instruction to return ON or After that date to the same web address.

The rest of our family got a simple message that said they were not impacted.
I, too, got a date to return ON or AFTER. I suppose it means that I am impacted.

Victoria
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mnaspbh
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by mnaspbh »

Got_Milk2015 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:26 pm I wonder if those with frozen equifax accounts had their pin number (to unfreeze) compromised as well?
They don't think so, but they don't know.

I'm not filled with optimism, given that this is at least the third time in the last few years that Equifax has suffered a major data leak. But hey, if you were impacted, they're willing to use their superior information-protection technologies to protect your personal information for a year...after they lost it in the first place. :oops:
Whakamole
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Whakamole »

My understanding with credit freezes (which I think I am now going to do, as painful as it sounds) is that, depending on state, we need to get a police report to get a free credit freeze. Has anyone had good luck getting the police to write this up? A few years ago, someone filed tax returns as me, and the police refused to take a report at all.
Beck49
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Beck49 »

Got_Milk2015 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:26 pm I wonder if those with frozen equifax accounts had their pin number (to unfreeze) compromised as well?
I've already frozen my accounts at all three agencies, but this is my concern as well.
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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

Whakamole wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:55 pm My understanding with credit freezes (which I think I am now going to do, as painful as it sounds) is that, depending on state, we need to get a police report to get a free credit freeze. Has anyone had good luck getting the police to write this up? A few years ago, someone filed tax returns as me, and the police refused to take a report at all.
You don't need a police report to create a credit freeze. Police report might make it free, but if you are willing to pay, you should be able to get it. Brian Krebs describes it in this article https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/11/rep ... ty-freeze/ and in this one https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/06/how ... ty-freeze/ .

This spreadsheet provided by Equifax lists credit freeze fees by state https://help.equifax.com/servlet/fileFi ... t__body__s

Victoria
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Kenkat
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Kenkat »

Interesting, it indicated I am not impacted.

I did sign up for the Discover Card monitoring mentioned above and I receive a monthly update from Capital One of any changes in my credit report which sounds a lot like what Equifax's TrustedID Premier is doing.
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

A sobering comment on the Brian Krebs' article, https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/09/bre ... americans/:
on September 7, 2017 at 7:50 pm Dale Chapman wrote:The information breached includes all the information needed to successfully file fraudulent tax returns. The drivers licsense number was the failsafe for IRS. This could prove to be the death nail for stolen identity refund fraud.
Victoria
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by mnaspbh »

VictoriaF wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:00 pm You don't need a police report to create a credit freeze. Police report might make it free, but if you are willing to pay, you should be able to get it. Brian Krebs describes it in this article https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/11/rep ... ty-freeze/ and in this one https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/06/how ... ty-freeze/ .

This spreadsheet provided by Equifax lists credit freeze fees by state https://help.equifax.com/servlet/fileFi ... t__body__s

Victoria
If you live in a state where you'll have to pay Equifax to freeze your credit after they lost your information, and you feel that it's unjust that Equifax will profit from having lost your information, this is a great time to contact one's elected representatives.
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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

mnaspbh wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:25 pm
VictoriaF wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:00 pm You don't need a police report to create a credit freeze. Police report might make it free, but if you are willing to pay, you should be able to get it. Brian Krebs describes it in this article https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/11/rep ... ty-freeze/ and in this one https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/06/how ... ty-freeze/ .

This spreadsheet provided by Equifax lists credit freeze fees by state https://help.equifax.com/servlet/fileFi ... t__body__s

Victoria
If you live in a state where you'll have to pay Equifax to freeze your credit after they lost your information, and you feel that it's unjust that Equifax will profit from having lost your information, this is a great time to contact one's elected representatives.
I certainly agree that the elected representatives should make credit freezes free, and that it's our responsibility to ask them to do so. But there is also the need for immediate actions to protect our credit, assets, and tax returns.

Victoria
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AAA
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by AAA »

I went to their dedicated website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, "to help consumers determine if their information has been potentially impacted and to sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection." After entering my information, it brought up a window telling me that I could enroll in the service they're offering on such-and-such a date. There was no explicit statement of whether my information had been impacted or not. So I should assume that since they're offering to sign me up that it has? Not a very clear or straightforward process. Anyhow, as I have the files already frozen, I am not in a hurry to use their service.

The article referenced by VictoriaF mentions a fourth credit bureau, Innovis. Has anyone frozen their files there also?
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SmileyFace
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by SmileyFace »

It didn't tell me whether or not I am impacted. Simply said to return to the site after a certain date. Was the impact statement a popup?
This company should be shut down.
Beck49
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Beck49 »

To the question of whether the unique ID for access to frozen accounts might have been included in the breach, the Brian Krebs web site suggests a tentative "no".

Several readers who have taken my advice and placed security freezes (also called a credit freeze) on their file with Equifax have written in asking whether this intrusion means cybercriminals could also be in possession of the unique PIN code needed to lift the freeze.

So far, the answer seems to be “no.”
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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

Beck49 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:33 pm To the question of whether the unique ID for access to frozen accounts might have been included in the breach, the Brian Krebs web site suggests a tentative "no".

Several readers who have taken my advice and placed security freezes (also called a credit freeze) on their file with Equifax have written in asking whether this intrusion means cybercriminals could also be in possession of the unique PIN code needed to lift the freeze.

So far, the answer seems to be “no.”

I saw this, too. The problem is that you can't prove a negative, "the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence."

Victoria
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by baw703916 »

VictoriaF wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:29 pm One of Brian's commenters has posted a link to a Bloomberg article Three Equifax Managers Sold Stock Before Cyber Hack Was Revealed. This can get really ugly.

Victoria
Yeah, I noticed that article. (sigh)
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Whakamole
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Whakamole »

DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:33 pm It didn't tell me whether or not I am impacted. Simply said to return to the site after a certain date. Was the impact statement a popup?
This company should be shut down.
I think that means you need to return to the site on that date to enroll in whatever plan Equifax has put together. In other words, you are a victim.

If Equifax can't keep our data protected, I'm not sure their credit freeze system will work either.
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SmileyFace
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by SmileyFace »

Whakamole wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:42 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:33 pm It didn't tell me whether or not I am impacted. Simply said to return to the site after a certain date. Was the impact statement a popup?
This company should be shut down.
I think that means you need to return to the site on that date to enroll in whatever plan Equifax has put together. In other words, you are a victim.

If Equifax can't keep our data protected, I'm not sure their credit freeze system will work either.
Thanks. I'm on hold - called the number for more info. "Longer than expected wait times". What did they expect? Have a breach....wait over a month before letting you know...then don't clearly tell you whether or not you are impacted....
Whakamole
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Whakamole »

DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:52 pm
Whakamole wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:42 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:33 pm It didn't tell me whether or not I am impacted. Simply said to return to the site after a certain date. Was the impact statement a popup?
This company should be shut down.
I think that means you need to return to the site on that date to enroll in whatever plan Equifax has put together. In other words, you are a victim.

If Equifax can't keep our data protected, I'm not sure their credit freeze system will work either.
Thanks. I'm on hold - called the number for more info. "Longer than expected wait times". What did they expect? Have a breach....wait over a month before letting you know...then don't clearly tell you whether or not you are impacted....
Maybe the insiders needed extra time to sell their stock?
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SmileyFace
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by SmileyFace »

DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:52 pm
Whakamole wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:42 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:33 pm It didn't tell me whether or not I am impacted. Simply said to return to the site after a certain date. Was the impact statement a popup?
This company should be shut down.
I think that means you need to return to the site on that date to enroll in whatever plan Equifax has put together. In other words, you are a victim.

If Equifax can't keep our data protected, I'm not sure their credit freeze system will work either.
Thanks. I'm on hold - called the number for more info. "Longer than expected wait times". What did they expect? Have a breach....wait over a month before letting you know...then don't clearly tell you whether or not you are impacted....
After being on hold for 10 to 15 minutes they had a message about large call volume and hung up on me. Nice.
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in_reality
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by in_reality »

AAA wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:30 pm I went to their dedicated website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, "to help consumers determine if their information has been potentially impacted and to sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection." After entering my information, it brought up a window telling me that I could enroll in the service they're offering on such-and-such a date. There was no explicit statement of whether my information had been impacted or not. So I should assume that since they're offering to sign me up that it has?
I suspect they don't know.

I was told that "Based on the information provided, we believe that your personal information was not impacted by this incident.".

They still offered enrollment in TrustedID Premier. Selecting enroll gives me:
Thank You
Your enrollment date for TrustedID Premier is:
09/14/2017
Please be sure to mark your calendar as you will not receive additional reminders. On or after your enrollment date, please return to faq.trustedidpremier.com and click the link to continue through the enrollment process.

For more information visit the FAQ page.
Great - have to wait a week. If I had been impacted, anyone with with the info would have been able to use it for 5 weeks after discovery until the time Equifax was able to do something.
Last edited by in_reality on Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
rkhusky
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by rkhusky »

I think that all these hacks may lead to going back to having to go into a bank or similar institution to open accounts in order to verify information because institutions cannot trust anything done online.
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by 3dream3 »

Ice-9 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:52 pm If you have a Discover Card, their recent offer to monitor the dark web for members' social security numbers sounds good. I already had my credit frozen and recently signed up for the Discover offer. Not sure what action I'd take if Discover notifies me that my SS# is out there, but I guess it's good to know...

Edit to add link: https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/m ... nt-alerts/
Thanks for this... I went ahead and activated it. We already froze our credit after one of the many previous breaches. I can't even recall which breach prompted us to freeze our credit, it seems that there are just so many lately... which looks like we're also impacted by this too. Sigh...
tj218
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by tj218 »

So great, they will provide this monitoring for 1 year. I'm sure the nefarious group(s) that has all our data will only use that data for the next 365 days and then delete it. :annoyed


And the management of Equifax unloaded stock before the press release. Hope they enjoy prison.
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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:59 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:52 pm
Whakamole wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:42 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:33 pm It didn't tell me whether or not I am impacted. Simply said to return to the site after a certain date. Was the impact statement a popup?
This company should be shut down.
I think that means you need to return to the site on that date to enroll in whatever plan Equifax has put together. In other words, you are a victim.

If Equifax can't keep our data protected, I'm not sure their credit freeze system will work either.
Thanks. I'm on hold - called the number for more info. "Longer than expected wait times". What did they expect? Have a breach....wait over a month before letting you know...then don't clearly tell you whether or not you are impacted....
After being on hold for 10 to 15 minutes they had a message about large call volume and hung up on me. Nice.
143,000,000 customers x 5 min/customer call = 715,000,000 minutes = 11,900 hours = 497 days = 1.5 years to wait on hold. It's probably good that they've just hung up.

Victoria
Last edited by VictoriaF on Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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SmileyFace
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by SmileyFace »

I called their phone number 3 times now. They say wait for next available agent but after 5 minutes they say all agents are busy, please call back later, and hang up. Happens in 5 minutes each time.
Nice customer service.
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by TimeRunner »

DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:18 pm I called their phone number 3 times now. They say wait for next available agent but after 5 minutes they say all agents are busy, please call back later, and hang up. Happens in 5 minutes each time.
Nice customer service.
Did you seriously think you were going to be able to get through to them, and then have them actually be able to assist you? They are probably contracting with overseas call centers right now to bring on extra hands who will be polite but clueless. I would avoid calling and instead freeze your credit at the Big Three (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). Even if you spend $45 or $60 to do that (depending on where you live), that's something actionable you can do today. (I also wrote my Senators, House Member, and local State Senator about legislating free credit report freezes.) Good luck to us all.
One cannot enlighten the unconscious. | "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine." -Jeff Spicoli
squirm
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by squirm »

mnaspbh wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:25 pm
VictoriaF wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:00 pm You don't need a police report to create a credit freeze. Police report might make it free, but if you are willing to pay, you should be able to get it. Brian Krebs describes it in this article https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/11/rep ... ty-freeze/ and in this one https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/06/how ... ty-freeze/ .

This spreadsheet provided by Equifax lists credit freeze fees by state https://help.equifax.com/servlet/fileFi ... t__body__s

Victoria
If you live in a state where you'll have to pay Equifax to freeze your credit after they lost your information, and you feel that it's unjust that Equifax will profit from having lost your information, this is a great time to contact one's elected representatives.
10 bucks to lock your account X 145 million? Equifax could make out pretty well. This crap will continue, you've got three senior EFX executives selling shares the days after EFX found about about this...this is why unsecured networks will continue. Darkweb knows more about you then your probably know about yourself. I believe right now we're just operating on security through obscurity based on the law or large numbers.
squirm
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by squirm »

tj218 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:14 pm So great, they will provide this monitoring for 1 year. I'm sure the nefarious group(s) that has all our data will only use that data for the next 365 days and then delete it. :annoyed


And the management of Equifax unloaded stock before the press release. Hope they enjoy prison.
Yeah, free monitoring for a year, while all your personal info lives in perpetuity on dark webs. What a joke.
squirm
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by squirm »

TimeRunner wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:24 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:18 pm I called their phone number 3 times now. They say wait for next available agent but after 5 minutes they say all agents are busy, please call back later, and hang up. Happens in 5 minutes each time.
Nice customer service.
Did you seriously think you were going to be able to get through to them, and then have them actually be able to assist you? They are probably contracting with overseas call centers right now to bring on extra hands who will be polite but clueless. I would avoid calling and instead freeze your credit at the Big Three (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). Even if you spend $45 or $60 to do that (depending on where you live), that's something actionable you can do today. (I also wrote my Senators, House Member, and local State Senator about legislating free credit report freezes.) Good luck to us all.
Hopefully House members and senators will get hit, then perhaps something will get done.
tj218
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by tj218 »

TimeRunner wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:24 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:18 pm I called their phone number 3 times now. They say wait for next available agent but after 5 minutes they say all agents are busy, please call back later, and hang up. Happens in 5 minutes each time.
Nice customer service.
Did you seriously think you were going to be able to get through to them, and then have them actually be able to assist you? They are probably contracting with overseas call centers right now to bring on extra hands who will be polite but clueless. I would avoid calling and instead freeze your credit at the Big Three (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). Even if you spend $45 or $60 to do that (depending on where you live), that's something actionable you can do today. (I also wrote my Senators, House Member, and local State Senator about legislating free credit report freezes.) Good luck to us all.
Family of 4....so now I am out $180-$240 to freeze credit for their lapse?! The salt in the wound is the Equifax having the audacity to charge us for the freeze. This story is getting me angrier by the minute.
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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

squirm wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:32 pmDarkweb knows more about you then your probably know about yourself. I believe right now we're just operating on security through obscurity based on the law or large numbers.
The problem is that the Dark Web also has large numbers of criminals willing and able to defraud Westerners with assets.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
Whakamole
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by Whakamole »

VictoriaF wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:36 pm
squirm wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:32 pmDarkweb knows more about you then your probably know about yourself. I believe right now we're just operating on security through obscurity based on the law or large numbers.
The problem is that the Dark Web also has large numbers of criminals willing and able to defraud Westerners with assets.

Victoria
Who needs the Darkweb, we have a company wanting to charge us to freeze our credit when they were the ones that leaked it.
squirm
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by squirm »

tj218 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:36 pm
TimeRunner wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:24 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:18 pm I called their phone number 3 times now. They say wait for next available agent but after 5 minutes they say all agents are busy, please call back later, and hang up. Happens in 5 minutes each time.
Nice customer service.
Did you seriously think you were going to be able to get through to them, and then have them actually be able to assist you? They are probably contracting with overseas call centers right now to bring on extra hands who will be polite but clueless. I would avoid calling and instead freeze your credit at the Big Three (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). Even if you spend $45 or $60 to do that (depending on where you live), that's something actionable you can do today. (I also wrote my Senators, House Member, and local State Senator about legislating free credit report freezes.) Good luck to us all.
Family of 4....so now I am out $180-$240 to freeze credit for their lapse?! The salt in the wound is the Equifax having the audacity to charge us for the freeze. This story is getting me angrier by the minute.
At the very least they should lock all accounts by default w/o charge, after almost every adult in the US just had their personal financial information breached. But maybe that makes too much sense.

Their EFX executives put this information out now, when they know every news segment is focused on the hurricanes.
tj218
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by tj218 »

squirm wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:44 pm
tj218 wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:36 pm
TimeRunner wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:24 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:18 pm I called their phone number 3 times now. They say wait for next available agent but after 5 minutes they say all agents are busy, please call back later, and hang up. Happens in 5 minutes each time.
Nice customer service.
Did you seriously think you were going to be able to get through to them, and then have them actually be able to assist you? They are probably contracting with overseas call centers right now to bring on extra hands who will be polite but clueless. I would avoid calling and instead freeze your credit at the Big Three (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). Even if you spend $45 or $60 to do that (depending on where you live), that's something actionable you can do today. (I also wrote my Senators, House Member, and local State Senator about legislating free credit report freezes.) Good luck to us all.
Family of 4....so now I am out $180-$240 to freeze credit for their lapse?! The salt in the wound is the Equifax having the audacity to charge us for the freeze. This story is getting me angrier by the minute.
At the very least they should lock all accounts by default w/o charge, after almost every adult in the US just had their personal financial information breached. But maybe that makes too much sense.

Their EFX executives put this information out now, when they know every news segment is focused on the hurricanes.
Wait until a big news event to bury the largest data breach in history AND profit by selling stock before you do break the news.
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VictoriaF
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by VictoriaF »

susa wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:43 pm
fposte wrote: ...slightly weird, in that the way they tell you whether your info was involved or not is by telling you when you'd be allowed to enroll (for reasons I'm not clear on it's staggered by date).
Got a future date with the instruction to return ON or After that date to the same web address.
A commenter on the Brian Krebs's article suggests that the link for entering the last 6 digits of the Social Security Number and Last Name, and the non-informative response resemble a phishing attack.
Wayne, September 7, 2017 at 8:55 pm

Same here. That non-informative response reminded me of what happens when you visit a phishing site. How sure are we that the attackers aren’t still in control and have engineered this request for our last name and the last 6 digits of our SSN?
Wayne, September 7, 2017 at 9:07 pm

Same here; it didn’t report on whether I’d been affected, but just told me to come back on 9/12. That sort of non-informative response troubles me; it’s what I’d expect to see from a phishing site. How certain are we that the Equifax hackers aren’t still in control and harvesting our last name and the last six digits of our SSN?
Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
tj218
Posts: 472
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by tj218 »

VictoriaF wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:48 pm
susa wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:43 pm
fposte wrote: ...slightly weird, in that the way they tell you whether your info was involved or not is by telling you when you'd be allowed to enroll (for reasons I'm not clear on it's staggered by date).
Got a future date with the instruction to return ON or After that date to the same web address.
A commenter on the Brian Krebs's article suggests that the link for entering the last 6 digits of the Social Security Number and Last Name, and the non-informative response resemble a phishing attack.
Wayne, September 7, 2017 at 8:55 pm

Same here. That non-informative response reminded me of what happens when you visit a phishing site. How sure are we that the attackers aren’t still in control and have engineered this request for our last name and the last 6 digits of our SSN?
Wayne, September 7, 2017 at 9:07 pm

Same here; it didn’t report on whether I’d been affected, but just told me to come back on 9/12. That sort of non-informative response troubles me; it’s what I’d expect to see from a phishing site. How certain are we that the Equifax hackers aren’t still in control and harvesting our last name and the last six digits of our SSN?
Victoria
I foolishly did put the info in on this and got a date (9/13) but unless if this is a second, unrelated group that is doing this hack I don't see why the people who have our data would need any digits of our SS. It's probably legit.
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SmileyFace
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Re: Equifax customer information leak

Post by SmileyFace »

TimeRunner wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:24 pm
DaftInvestor wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:18 pm I called their phone number 3 times now. They say wait for next available agent but after 5 minutes they say all agents are busy, please call back later, and hang up. Happens in 5 minutes each time.
Nice customer service.
Did you seriously think you were going to be able to get through to them, and then have them actually be able to assist you? They are probably contracting with overseas call centers right now to bring on extra hands who will be polite but clueless. I would avoid calling and instead freeze your credit at the Big Three (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). Even if you spend $45 or $60 to do that (depending on where you live), that's something actionable you can do today. (I also wrote my Senators, House Member, and local State Senator about legislating free credit report freezes.) Good luck to us all.
I did finally get through. Temp employee - couldn't tell me anything other than read me information that was already in thd press announcement and tell me the services that the monitoring service would provide as if that would make me happy. I did tell them their tool was broken. I thought they may have had the power to at least look me up and see what list I was on but nope.
Anyway- nothing wasted nothing gained - sitting on hold while watching football is no skin off my back (go Patriots).
Locked