Here's what happened when I tried to freeze my credit

Like millions of other people, I freaked out a little last week when I learned that my personal information "may have been impacted" by the Equifax breach.

Thieves got the mother lode of data, which they could use to open credit cards or loans in my name. But what should I do to protect myself? I wasn't sure.

Equifax said it was offering a free credit monitoring service, so I decided to start there. I tried to sign up for it right away on Friday, but instead I was given an enrollment date to come back: September 13. I would have to wait almost a week to get it.

In the meantime, I pulled one of my credit reports to see if anyone had tried to open an account in my name. So far, so good.

I also placed what's called a fraud alert on my credit reports. Basically, it tells businesses that I might have been a victim of fraud -- and that they should take extra precaution before opening an account in my name. It took me just a few minutes to fill out an online form to put the alert in place. The service is free from any of the three credit agencies -- Equifax, Experian or TransUnion -- and lasts 30 days.

After talking to experts, I decided that I should put a freeze on my credit reports as well. It blocks businesses from accessing my report, as long as I don't already have an account with them.

"The only way to prevent new account identity theft is through a freeze," said Mike Litt, consumer program advocate with U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

The drawback is that it could get annoying when I want to open a new account myself, requiring me to contact the credit agency to temporarily lift the freeze -- and it could cost a small fee depending on your state. In New Jersey, where I live, it costs $5. But I'm not planning on opening a new loan or credit card anytime soon. I think the extra protection is worth the effort and potential hassle.

On Wednesday, I returned to the Equifax website to freeze my credit and finally sign up for the monitoring. But I was unsuccessful on both counts.

Related: What's a credit freeze and should you do it?

To put the freeze in place, I had to submit my name, date of birth, Social Security number, and address in an online form. But then I got this message: "We're sorry. We cannot process your security freeze request online at this time. Please try back later." There was no explanation, and no number to call. Instead, the message provided contact information for the two other credit rating agencies -- Transunion and Experian.

The thing is, I need to put a freeze in place at all three, including Equifax. So then I called the Equifax hotline to see if I could put set up a freeze over the phone. An automated voice told me that all lines were busy and I was disconnected. That happened twice.

Later on Wednesday, the company issued a statement that said it was experiencing a high volume of freeze requests and that the system was offline for about an hour to address technical difficulties. But when I tried again on Thursday, I received the same online message.

Defeated, I decided to at least sign up for the credit monitoring service that Equifax is offering, TrustedID Premier. (Initially, signing up for the service limited your rights to sue. But Equifax has since updated its policy.)

A monitoring service might not be necessary if I already have a freeze on my report. Typically, these services alert you if someone has opened an unauthorized account in your name, but only after the fact.

But it would be helpful to have in place for the time being. And Equifax has made one year free for anyone who signs up before November 21.

Related: 1 things to do if you're worried about the Equifax breach

The TrustedID Premier service does go a step further. It acts like a less-strict version of a freeze on my Equifax credit report. It would still allow access to creditors who want to make me a pre-approved offer, as well as potential employers. Those third parties are blocked if you have a real freeze in place.

The service also provides up to $1 million in identity theft insurance and scans the Internet for suspicious use of my Social Security number. This could alert me if cybercriminals are selling my Social Security number online.

Other companies, including Experian and TransUnion, offer monitoring services and identity theft protection for a cost that usually ranges from $9.99 to $29.99 a month.

To start the enrollment process for TrustedID, I once again submitted my name, Social Security number, and contact information in the online form. (It didn't ask for my credit card number.)

But that's as far as I got. I was told that I would receive an email within a few days with a link to finalize my enrollment.

To remove this headache all together, go to this link that will help you beyond a shadow of a doubt. (under member ID type 322740).

Original story by: by Katie Lobosco 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/14/pf/equifax-freeze-my-credit/index.html

DEEP BREATHS The complete guide to the Equifax breach

Every day brings new details—and questions—about the Equifax breach that exposed the personal information of millions of customers to hackers. It can be hard to keep up with the firehose of information; that’s where we come in.

Here’s everything you need to know about what’s going on, and what exactly you should be doing to deal with it.

Equifax is a credit agency. 

Equifax is one of three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs) in the US. The other two are TransUnion and Experian. These agencies maintain records on all Americans’ credit history by gathering data from firms that issue credit, such as credit card companies, banks, and credit unions.

They were hacked. 

On Sept. 7, Equifax reported that hackers had exploited a vulnerability in its US website application to gain access to certain files from mid-May through July 2017.

Roughly 143 million US customers could be affected. 

The hackers accessed personal data, including Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and, in some cases, driver’s license numbers. They also stole credit card numbers (at least) for approximately 209,000 US consumers, as well as dispute documents—used to dispute errors on credit reports—with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 US consumers. Some UK and Canadian residents may have also had personal data compromised.

If you’re in the US, you were probably affected! 

If you are an American citizen or US resident and you have ever applied for credit, you could have been affected by the breach, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. (After all, 143 million people represents 44% of the US population.) Says ITRC: “The breach may also impact minor children whose parents have submitted documentation to the CRAs for the purposes of checking on or protecting their credit information, even if a credit report or score was never established.”

Equifax knew about the hack more than a month before they reported it. 

You read that right. The company discovered the breach on July 29 and chose not to publicly disclose it until last week. Adding insult to injury, three Equifax executives sold nearly $2 million in company stock before the announcement. The company maintains that its executives “had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold their shares.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Equifax is now under federal investigation. On Friday, Dow Jones reported that two of its security and information executives are retiring, effective immediately.

Equifax set up a site for potential victims. 

The company established a website to help consumers find out whether their data had been compromised; it also offered them the opportunity to sign up for credit-file monitoring and identity-theft protection.

People weren’t happy. 

When the Equifax recovery site first launch, it included a clause stating that anyone signing up for protective services waived their rights to participate in any class-action lawsuits against the company. After intense public and media outcry, the company eventually removed the clause.

There are things potential victims should do. 

Again, if you are an American citizen or US resident who has applied for credit, this applies to you! Here is a quickie version of Quartz’s guide to navigating the fallout.

1. Check your credit report for unauthorized activity. You can get free reports for all three CRAs at annualcreditreport.com. Follow up with the credit issuers immediately if anything looks suspicious.
2. Freeze your credit with each CRA using the websites and phone numbers below. This will prevent people from opening new lines of credit with your identity, although it does not protect your currently open lines of credit.
   Equifax: 1-800-349-9960 
   Experian: 1-888-397-3742 
   TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872 
3. Set up a fraud alert. You only need to contact one CRA to do this. Once in place, an alert requires the agency to verify your identity anytime you or someone else tries to open an account. You’ll need to renew it after 90 days.
4. Sign up to get your ssn protected @ Protect your SSN

You definitely shouldn’t do nothing. 

ITRC CEO Eva Casey Velasquez says that taking a wait-and-see approach could be hugely detrimental. Credit fraud can take weeks to resolve, at best; at worst, it can take years. That hassle far outweighs the inconvenience of having a temporary (or even permanent) credit freeze.

Having your SSN stolen also puts you at risk for criminal, medical, and even government benefits and documents fraud, Velasquez says. To avoid tax fraud, file early.

(You can read more of Velasquez’s advice here.)

The hack is one of 23 so far this year. 

By Wired’s count, there have been 23 cyberattacks in 2017, ranging from a Verizon server vulnerability that left the phone numbers, names, and pin codes of 6 million customers exposed to a malware attack on Chipotle’s payment systems that accessed US customers’ payment card data.

The hacks are exposing fundamental issues with how the US handles privacy. 

“Your Social Security number is supposed to be kept secret, which is an increasing challenge in the digital era,” Wired noted in a story this week. “And unlike other, similar secrets (like credit card numbers and passwords), SSNs are extremely difficult to change.”

Many experts are now calling for a complete revamp of the SSN system, or even eliminating it entirely.

Originally Posted by 

What Millennials Need To Know About The Equifax Credit Breach

If you are a Millennial with a credit report, there's a good chance that you are one of the 143 million Americans whose personal data has been compromised from Equifax, one of the nation's three major credit bureaus.

Here is what you need to know and the steps that you can take following this material data breach:

1. What happened?

According to Equifax, the breach lasted from mid-May through July 2017.

Hackers accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers.

Equifax said hackers also stole credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal identifying information for about 182,000 people.

2. How can you check if your information was compromised?

You can learn more on Equifax's website.

To determine whether your personal information was exposed, click on the “Potential Impact” tab and enter your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number.

For your reference, you can contact Equifax by telephone available daily from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. eastern time at 1-866-447-7559  (for dedicated data breach call center). You can also contact Equifax customer care at 1-866-640-2273 .

3. Can you obtain free credit monitoring services?

Whether or not your information was exposed, U.S. consumers can get a year of free credit monitoring and other services through www.equifaxsecurity2017.com.

This Equifax website will provide you a date when you can enroll. Return to the website on that date and click "Enroll."

Make sure to enroll by November 21, 2017.

4. Do you waive any rights by accepting a year of free credit monitoring services?

First, it is important to note that the breach can impact your credit profile for longer than one year.

Therefore, one year of credit monitoring services may help for the short-term, but may not be a long-term solution.

For example, a Social Security Number does not expire. Therefore, you need to protect yourself on an ongoing basis.

You may want to purchase ongoing credit monitoring services so that you can receive automatic updates regarding any changes to your credit report.

Second, whenever you sign up for a service (particularly following a data breach), make sure you understand the terms and conditions of the offering.

Initially, consumers who sought to accept the free one year of credit monitoring services from Equifax were reportedly not signing up for a "free" service.

How can this be?

Equifax's credit monitoring agreement stated that in exchange for accepting the credit monitoring services, a consumer would waive his or her right to sue Equifax subsequently in any class action lawsuit.

After meeting with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office, however, Equifax clarified that consumers can receive the free credit monitoring service and not give up their right to sue Equifax in the future as a result of the data breach.

5. Check your credit report

Under federal law, you are entitled to obtain a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each credit reporting company, including Experian, Equifax and Transunion.

You can check your credit report for free at Annualcreditreport.com to ensure that your credit report is in good order.

If you find any errors on your credit report, contact each credit bureau directly to remedy the issues.

6. Monitor your credit cards and bank accounts

In addition to monitoring your credit reports, make sure to check your credit card and bank account statements to ensure the transactions are legitimate.

Report any suspicious activities such as unauthorized bank withdrawals or transfers.

Original Article:  Zack Friedman , CONTRIBUTOR 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2017/09/14/equifax-credit-breach-millennial/#4c7a5e66221b