Equifax sent users to a fake version of their website

“It’s in everyone’s interest to get Equifax to change this site to a reputable domain”, Sweeting said. First, the credit agency was hacked.

“If the number is 143 million, assume you’ve been affected”, Bambenek advised.

Multiple media outlets have reported that the credit reporting agency has been sending victims of the data breach to a fake website for help. Remember that the problem with such a breach is not simply that a crook now knows your Social Security number and your driver’s license number, but having that information could allow a person to open an account in your name and subsequently steal money from you.

For more financial literacy or consumer awareness you can contact Rachel at the Pittsburg County OSU Extension office at 918-423-4120.

As Richard Nesbitt, chief executive of the Global Risk Institute (GRI), which advises the financial industry on risk management, points out, if a firm such as Equifax, whose very business is managing data, appears so vulnerable, concerns will mount that nowhere is safe.

Beware email links. Some fraud attempts are obvious: text or email from a Nigerian prince or an update request from a financial institution where you don’t have an account.

There isn’t enough incentive for companies to change.

Check your vulnerability through Equifax, but even if you find out you’re potentially unaffected, consider taking protective steps anyway, Kiddoo advised.

That level of impact has led to a robust, if imperfect, regulatory framework surrounding what data credit bureaus can receive and the use cases for which they can be applied. He mimicked Equifax’s layout and design to show consumers just how easy it is to hack the credit monitoring report’s website.

Freezing your credit file means no one can access it, not even you, without a PIN or passphrase. Most creditors need to see your credit report before they approve a new account, and if they can’t see your file, they may not extend the credit. “It loads over https, and I’ve disabled the eligibility form so that no information typed in gets sent anywhere or saved in any way”, Sweeting said. There are three main companies in the US: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Regardless of whether you were impacted, Equifax is offering free credit monitoring to all Americans and several companies also offer similar services for a fee.

TransUnion, meanwhile, offers a lock through its free TrueIdentity product, which also has its own app. He typically advises using a credit monitoring service, though be aware that free ones can come with some strings attached.

“Equifax is not a retail store that happened to get some credit cards stolen; it’s the central nervous system of our credit lending services”, said Doss, of the Doss Law Firm, who is the former president of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association.

“At the end of the day, it was on Equifax to protect itself, and they didn’t”. Then, you can decide whether to take another step.

If you go with a freeze, you’ll have to keep in mind to give yourself some time to allow an unfreezing of your file to take effect.

It’s just the latest and most egregious example of how people are told that their data is simultaneously worthless and incredibly valuable.

Unless you are planning on frequently applying for credit, why would you need to do much locking and unlocking of your credit file? Tax identity theft occurs when someone uses your Social Security number to get a tax refund or a job.

Schuette also issued a new consumer alert to assist MI residents about important steps to protect their identity.