4 Ways To Protect Yourself Following The Equifax Security Breach

The personal information of 143 million people was compromised by hackers at Equifax (the credit rating agency). Unfortunately, consumers are only just now finding out that their data may be for sale somewhere on the Dark Web.

Take action now to protect yourself! In this video I will go over 4 steps you can take today to help protect your credit. 

Since there are a lot of links to remember here is the summary:

1. Go to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com click on enroll and then begin enrollment to see if you are affected. If you're married don't forget to check your maiden name as well.
2. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com - this is the only Federally authorized site that allows you to get a free credit report each year from all three credit rating agencies. If you see a fraudulent account contact the lender immediately.
3. Call all 3 credit rating agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) and request a credit freeze. This will make it harder for a thief to open a new credit account using your stolen information.
4. You can also request a fraud alert be placed on your account. You only need to ask 1 credit rating agency to do this. It only lasts for 90 days so set a reminder in your phone to have it placed again after 90 days if you choose to go this route.

Also- Equifax is offering free credit monitoring for those affected BUT you may not want to take them up on that offer.

According to a CNBC article, in the fine print it says that you agree to arbitration and give up your right to participate in a class action lawsuit.

That may or may not hold up in court, but beware. (I'm not giving legal advice, you should check with an attorney if you have questions.)

(Update: Equifax has reportedly said that fine print doesn't apply to this data breach. Make of that what you will.)

There are other companies that provide credit monitoring for a fee. You may wish to explore those.