What to do if Equifax hack hits you?

In basic terms, freezing your credit means placing restrictions on who can view your credit report.

Credit monitoring company Equifax has been hit by a high-tech heist that exposed the Social Security numbers and other sensitive information about 143 million Americans.

“Nearly everyone with a credit report”, had their personal information potentially exposed following a data breach. Last week, when the announcement finally came to light, all Equifax offered us was a bug-ridden website and a year’s worth of the same old credit monitoring.

The company suggests you sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. “It’s to get you to sign up for its revenue-generating product TrustID”.

The site where Mashable uncovered the information is now offline.

Zafar said he tested out the site with random sequences of six digits and last names several times and received different messages.

The initial announcement of the breach on September 7, which disclosed that the personal details of up to 143 million United States consumers were potentially accessed by hackers between mid-May and July.

Nonetheless, the financial information services provider further noted that its core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases seemed to be safe as it did not find any unauthorized activity. But when speculation was rife that it would be a requirement, opponents of arbitration clauses seized upon the incident to pressure Congress not to pass legislation that takes away a consumers’ right to sue.

The company also recommends that you review account statements and credit reports yourself to check for incidents of fraud.

Go to AnnualCreditReports.com and use this service to request free copies of your credit report. This may cost a small fee if you do not have proof of identity theft or a police report, and you will have to lift or remove the freeze if you need a third party to access your credit report for a credit card application or auto loan application, for example. Each company will give you a code that you’ll need again in order to lift the freeze, so keep it in a safe place.

Equifax put volume has skyrocketed following the company’s high-profile data breach. Just don’t answer. When it comes to identity crooks, you have permission to be rude.

Consumers must create credit freezes separately at each of the three credit bureaus, which along with Equifax includes Experian and Transunion (TRU). It lasts for 90 days and requires creditors to get in contact with the person before checking their credit. “Free credit freezes for those affected”. This is a good idea as long as you’re not about to apply for a mortgage, auto loan or other line of credit. If someone else goes to take out a loan in your name, the lender will not be able to pull your report and therefore can not extend the credit. Each bureau may charge you a fee, and those fees may vary depending on which state you live in.

Below are four steps to take following Equifax’s data breach.

More than 140 million American consumers had their personal information compromised as a outcome of a huge Equifax breach.