If you haven’t heard yet, Equifax one of the nation’s three main credit reporting agencies, announced this week it was the victim of a major hack that exposed the personal information of 143 million U.S. consumers — or two-thirds of all Americans with credit reports.

Money expert Clark Howard has called this “the worst data breach in the history of the modern era” and he would be right.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE EQUIFAX DATA BREACH

According to Equifax, hackers exploited the security vulnerability in a United Stated based application to gain access to millions of consumers’ personal data and files.  The company has not said which vulnerability or application was the source.  In fact there not saying much at all.

We hear about data breaches all the time but in the world of hacks, scams and data breaches this is about as bad as it gets.

The hackers were able to gain access to the following information:

• Names
• Social Security Numbers
• Dates of Birth
• Address
• Driver’s License
• Credit Card Numbers

Anyone, impacted by the breach is now at serious and real risk of identity theft and fraud.

Any of this personal information that was taken can be sold to criminals who could then use it to open up credit cards, take out loans, make purchases or even rob you of your money and drain your bank accounts.

So what should you do?

 DON’T SIGN UP FOR EQUIFAX’S MONITORING SERVICE

Equifax is offering consumers the option to sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection and although at face value this sounds like a good idea here’s why you DON’T want to do it.

First off, they just exposed all your personal data due to their carelessness.  So do you really think they can provide you with identity theft protection?

TOO LATE FOR THAT.

So how can you protect yourself and your personal information?

The only way to truly protect yourself is with a credit freeze.

A credit freeze seals up your credit report so that if a criminal was trying to open up a line of credit in your name they won’t be able to do it.

It basically seals up your credit information and provides you with a personal identification number (PIN) that only you know.  When you need to apply for legitimate credit you “thaw” our credit file temporarily by using your PIN.  This prevents criminals from actually using the information they’ve obtained legally but still allows you to get credit when you need it.

And this goes for anyone, not just those impacted directly by this breach.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY IN TWO STEPS

1. Sign up for Credit Karma’s free credit monitoring: Go to creditkarma.com to sign up for a free account and you’ll get access to free credit monitoring. If they notice any suspicious activity, you’ll get an alert. Plus, Credit Karma also gives you free access to your credit scores and reports, as well as tips on what factors are impacting your credit.

2. Freeze your credit with all three main credit bureaus: By freezing your credit files, you can prevent criminals from using your information to wreak havoc on your financial life. Even if your info was not exposed by the Equifax hack, this is the best way to protect your identity and your money.

EQUIFAX CREDIT FREEZE – [Equifax Website]

• Credit freezes may be done online or by certified mail – return receipt requested.
• Check your state for the exact cost of your credit freeze and to see if there is a reduction in cost if you are a senior citizen.
• Request your credit freeze by certified mail.
• If your PIN is late arriving, call 1-888-298-0045. They will ask you for some ID and arrange for your PIN to be sent to you in 4-7 days.
• Unfreeze: Do a temporary thaw of your Equifax credit freeze by snail mail, online or by calling 1-800-685-1111 (N.Y. residents dial 1-800-349-9960).
• Info on freezing a child’s credit with Equifax can be found here.
• If requesting a freeze by mail, use the following address:
  • Equifax Security Freeze
    P.O. Box 105788
    Atlanta, GA. 30348

EXPERIAN CREDIT FREEZE – [Experian Website]

• Credit freezes may be done online; by certified mail – return receipt requested; or by calling 1-888-EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742). When calling, press 2 then follow prompts for a security freeze.
• Check your state for the exact cost of your credit freeze and to see if there is a reduction in cost if you are a senior citizen.
• Request your credit freeze by certified mail.
• You can also freeze a child’s credit report. The information contained at this link is applicable for all three credit bureaus. You must first write a letter to each bureau to learn if your minor child has a credit report and if so, then you can proceed to freeze it.
• Unfreeze: Do a temporary thaw of your Experian credit freeze online or by calling 1-888-397-3742.
• Info on freezing a child’s credit with Experian can be found here.
• If requesting a freeze by mail, use the following address:
  • Experian
    P.O. Box 9554
    Allen, TX. 75013

TRANSUNION CREDIT FREEZE – [TransUnion website]

• Credit freezes may be done online, by phone (1-888-909-8872) or by certified mail – return receipt requested.
• Check your state for the exact cost of your credit freeze and to see if there is a reduction in cost if you are a senior citizen.
• Request your credit freeze by certified mail.
• Unfreeze: Do a temporary thaw of your TransUnion credit freeze online or by calling 1-888-909-8872.
• Info on freezing a child’s credit with TransUnion can be found here.
• If requesting a freeze by mail, use the following address:
  • TransUnion Protected Consumer Freeze
    P.O. Box 380
    Woodlyn, PA. 19094

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

This hack will undoubtedly impact millions of American’s in some way and so you want to be diligent about other ways you can be compromised.

Criminals are already trying to dream up ways to take advantage of this situation.  People are worried and rightly so.  Those criminals will tap into that fear in order to trick you into handing over your personal information.

Even if your information was not breached, you still may receive a fake email, text or phone call from a criminal offering to help or asking to either determine whether your information was hacked by Equifax or to help you protect yourself.

That’s why setting up a credit freeze with all three credit bureaus is a must!

With scams related to the hack expected to pop up everywhere, here are some tips to help you protect yourself, your money and your identity:

• Be wary of unexpected emails containing links or attachments: If you receive an unexpected email claiming to be from your bank or other company that has your personal information, don’t click on any of the links or attachments. It could be a scam. Instead, log in to your account separately to check for any new notices.
• Call the company directly: If you aren’t sure whether an email notice is legit, call the company directly about the information sent via email to find out if it is real and/or if there is any urgent information you should know about.
• If you do end up on a website that asks for your personal information, make sure it is a secure website, which will have “https” at the beginning (“s” indicates secure).
• Look out for grammar and spelling errors: Scam emails often contain typos and other errors — which is a big red flag that it probably didn’t come from a legitimate source.
• Never respond to a text message from a number you don’t recognize: This could also make any information stored in your phone vulnerable to hackers. Do some research to find out who and where the text came from.
• Don’t call back unknown numbers: If you get a missed call on your cell phone from a number you don’t recognize, don’t call it back.

CONCLUSION

Be smart folks and get your credit freeze now and protect your identity. Do this for all members of your family that have credit no matter how little or big.