Equifax breach exposes 143 million people to identity theft

a reply to: loam

Somebody may actually go to jail.

Not likely. Those folks don't do jail.

Evidently I'm okay. Guess my information just wasn't good enough!

Looks like I was one of the people potentially affected as well.

Haven't gotten any credit alerts yet. Not exactly sure what to do at this point

a reply to: charolais

About all you can do is take advantage of the fraud alert they offer.
And keep track of your statements.

It just really sucks so bad, it is being violated.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

No, you can do more, and I recommend it if you are concerned. Friday, after hearing the news late Thursday, I contacted all three of the primary credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) and put a freeze on my credit. This is the nuclear option and may cost money depending on what state you are in. Here in California, it was $10 each for a total of $30.

When your credit report is frozen, it can be accessed only under limited circumstances (existing creditors, government, courts, etc can still access) but no new lines of credit can be established in your name. Not a good idea if you're currently hunting for a new home, car or other credit-based purchase, or if you're looking for a job, but options exists to thaw the record for a set period of time if you do need to allow access for one of those reasons.

Also depending on your state of residence, you may be able to put a softer "Fraud Alert" on your record. These are free, and you only have to start with one of the big three. By law, they have to share those fraud alerts with the other agencies.

Finally, don't forget to use the three free annual reports. I'll be pulling my Equifax report next month to make sure nothing new has shown up. By Federal law, you are entitled to an annual freebie from each of the big three. I stagger them 8-10 weeks apart so it is pretty much constant coverage... For example, if you pull one in January, another in May and the last in September, you 'll be all set to circle back to the first one in January again. This way you're getting a report once a quarter throughout the year.

September 11, 2017

Even though 50% of Americans were affected by the huge Equifax personal data breach, Equifax says that NO ObamaCare enrollees were affected. Yeah..right. That's a FAKE statement. (i.e. a LIE) WHY?

The credit data firm has a $329 million, five-year government contract which ends in March 2018, to verify the incomes of people purchasing coverage through the health exchanges. The Affordable Care Act provides subsidies to help people afford health insurance depending on their income levels.

Source: www.bloomberg.com...

Ordinary citizens don't stand a chance when corporate America and our elected Politicians all place money at the top of their list of priorities. We're screwed!

Liejunkie01 raised his hand and states,

"I am one of the millions that have had my information breached".

It sucks because I have been tryig to improve my credit score to get a decent house.

I feel violated.

FN Bastards

a reply to: ANNED

You can check just do not sign up for the protection, at least that is the way it was explained to me.

a reply to: Tripnman

Thanks for all that info.
I'm not sure the Freeze is something I want to do, but the One Year Fraud Alerts sound like a good idea.

a reply to: Tripnman

A question just came to mind. Will the freeze prevent someone from violating your identity?
Could your social security number be compromised???

a reply to: Metallicus

Funny how it's roughly 144 mill
Right before the purported Rapture of the 144,000
Right before the Dragon (Nibiru) emerges on the 23rd...

Hmmm
Wonder who would find certain individuals info VERY VALUABLE before something like THAT happens?

Looks like myself and my two kids were hit, but not my wife.

The kids are 7 and 2. Why the heck does Equifax even have them on file?

originally posted by: AndyFromMichigan
The kids are 7 and 2. Why the heck does Equifax even have them on file?

They bought their social security number and capitalized birth certificates from the hospital to leverage them against a Treasury bond.

The kids are 7 and 2. Why the heck does Equifax even have them on file?

When I go on rants, this is exactly what I'm talking about.

When are the American people going stand up and start fighting for their freedom ?

I won't be around many more years so I've got nothing to lose, but you young people better start giving some serious thought to what type of society you want to live in.

Buck

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

The freeze will not prevent identity theft, no. And chances are that SSNs were compromised in this hack, so there's that.

What the freeze does do is make it nigh impossible to open a new line of credit in your name or attached to your credit report. So even if the hackers have your SSN, your DOB, you drivers license number, every address you've ever lived at, the names and addresses of known relatives, every loan you've ever signed for and the account info for every bank account and credit card you've ever had (yes, the credit reporting agency's file on you has all of that and more) - the bad guys can't damage your credit rating. There's plenty of other nefarious stuff they could do, but if I find that my SSN is being used I'll get a new one of those as well.

a reply to: Tripnman

Seems to me a fraud alert is damn near as good as a freeze?

Has anything come to light as to who hacked the Reporting Agency?
Or if there is a method to the madness as to who was hacked?

You can acquire a new social security number????

originally posted by: AndyFromMichigan
The kids are 7 and 2. Why the heck does Equifax even have them on file?

I would assume anyone with a social security number has a file.
And, TBH, I was speculating earlier today that those with NO history would be prime candidates for the hack.....no active credit in those so young.

Since so many banks retailers and Credit Agencies have been hacked ..including the IRS, perhaps we should all just live on a cash-only basis.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
I would assume anyone with a social security number has a file.
And, TBH, I was speculating earlier today that those with NO history would be prime candidates for the hack.....no active credit in those so young.

Oh, I know why they were targeted: it's going to be at least 11 years or 16 years before they do anything that requires a credit check. Plenty of time to take out bogus credit cards to scam Amazon.com vendors.

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan
That is what I was thinking.

If so, makes me wonder how clever the hackers were...of if they had some "help".

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
a reply to: Tripnman

You can acquire a new social security number????

You can if you've been the victim of fraud. More info on this .gov site:

Can I change my Social Security number?