[horseshoe846]

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/equifax-hack-find-out-if-you-were-one-of-143-million-hacked/

I followed the directions - our data was compromised.

 

[NCas]

On top of that Bloomberg reports that three executives sold stock before Equifax made the public announcement of the hack. They said the three managers supposedly did not know, but what else were they going to say?

Bloomberg

 

[Isla Verde]

What is Equifax?

 

[TundraGreen]

What is Equifax?

One of the three or four big credit bureaus. They have a credit rating for everyone and if you want a loan or credit card, the lender or credit card company will ask for your rating from them. They have files on pretty much everybody who has ever had a bank account or a loan. Info stolen from 143 million people means pretty much every adult in the US.

 

[Stevesolar]

One of the three or four big credit bureaus. They have a credit rating for everyone and if you want a loan or credit card, the lender or credit card company will ask for your rating from them. They have files on pretty much everybody who has ever had a bank account or a loan. Info stolen from 143 million people means pretty much every adult in the US.

Equifax is also one of the big players in the UK - and the hack allegedly affects UK customers, as well.
Apparently - if you follow the Equifax method to discover whether your data has been hacked - they sign you up with a partner company (Trusted ID) and this allegedly has a clause in their terms and conditions that precludes you from joining a class action law suit against Equifax - very underhanded, sharp practice, if true!

 

[TundraGreen]

Equifax is also one of the big players in the UK - and the hack allegedly affects UK customers, as well.
Apparently - if you follow the Equifax method to discover whether your data has been hacked - they sign you up with a partner company (Trusted ID) and this allegedly has a clause in their terms and conditions that precludes you from joining a class action law suit against Equifax - very underhanded, sharp practice, if true!

According to ArsTecnica, quoting a tweet from the New York State Attorney General, that clause is unenforceable and New York has asked them to remove it.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/09/so-equifax-says-your-data-was-hacked-now-what/

 

[horseshoe846]

What a lot of people don't realize is that the 3 credit bureaus, the major credit card companies etc all have always sold your information. At one point I worked for a company which purchased the 'credit headers' from the credit bureaus. It probably wouldn't have helped in the current situation - but you need to contact the companies and 'opt-out' of their sharing your information.

 

[horseshoe846]

What a mess. I was able to get my credit report (for myself) from Equifax - but in order to do that I had to enter the last address we physically lived at in the US. When I enter the same info for my wife it says it can not verify her identity (who knows why). Next I tried to get the report for Experian and TransUnion. I entered the same info I used to get the Equifax report - they did not like that - so it offered me an enroll via phone option I did that - and it appeared to work - but now they are going to send my credit reports to our old address in the US (in 15 days). I did sign up for Equifax's TrustedID alert program (which supposedly also enrolls me in similar service with the other two bureaus) But have yet to receive any confirmation - I called - give it a couple weeks. The last option is to freeze my own credit reporting (which I think you have to do individually with each company). What a mess.

 

[mattoleriver]

I just tried, and failed, to freeze my credit reports on all three credit reporting agencies. Not even one of the three could verify my identity from the information that they requested and I truthfully and fully supplied. Right now it looks to me like the whole damned bunch of them are inept and unworthy of the trust that has been placed in them.

I used this link to find the proper places to place the freezes. Credit Freeze Guide: The best way to protect yourself against identity theft | Clark Howard

That part was easy, however, after filling out each request in turn I was unable to complete any of the freezes. I think that they just haven't yet figured out how they're going to scalp us this time.

 

[horseshoe846]

Well at this point - through trial and error - I have been able to download 4 of the 6 credit reports (for the two of us). Every one of them has different information for us. I have managed to enroll us both in their 90 day free monitoring service (where they alert you if someone tries to do something new using your credentials). Tomorrow I will call the three agencies and see if I can freeze the accounts.

I found these numbers :

Equifax — 1-800-349-9960
Experian — 1‑888‑397‑3742
TransUnion — 1-888-909-8872
Innovis — 1-800-540-2505

 

[horseshoe846]

I have successfully frozen our experian data. The phone number to use is :

855-246-9409

It cost me $10 USD but it was free for my wife (65+).

Still have to do the same for the other two agencies.