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Old 09-09-17, 10:32 AM  
ksleeth
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: TN
OT Equifax break in

I have been needing to do something with our SSN's for awhile and, in light of the break in, I decided I would run our credit reports and then place a freeze on them with the 3 credit bureaus because I do not want to pay for a monthly monitoring service. So I run them all and everything is good. I get a freeze on Equifax but am unable to freeze the other 2 because there is not enough info. I have just plastered mine and my husbands ssn's all over the internet and I cant even get 2 to freeze! And now I am wondering why Equifax was so easy to freeze? And was this a smart thing to do anyway. If they have your SSN they would probably be able to get your pin too.

Just wondering what others are doing? Thank you in advance.
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Old 09-09-17, 12:03 PM  
cyana
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Is it state specific that you can't freeze with the other 2 credit reporting agencies, or are you referring to not being able to freeze without paying for one?

DH and I have had freezes with all three reporting agencies for some time (by paying the fee to each agency). I consider it to be money well spent. We have been able to ascertain that we were likely impacted by the Equifax breach. Everyone needs to take this seriously - please read everything you can get your hands on (not just from the Equifax site!) about this situation as the repercussions will likely be felt for many years.

Last but not least, we all need to demand better consumer protection for this and future data breaches.
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Old 09-09-17, 01:15 PM  
kittybug
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cyana View Post
We have been able to ascertain that we were likely impacted by the Equifax breach. Everyone needs to take this seriously - please read everything you can get your hands on (not just from the Equifax site!) about this situation as the repercussions will likely be felt for many years.

Last but not least, we all need to demand better consumer protection for this and future data breaches.
I don't want to go enter my information in yet another place to determine if I was part of this or not! Do you know if they're going to send out anything to notify those impacted?

I've had a fraud alert and other measures in place since earlier this year as I was part of another very large breach and have had to deal with some nasty fallout from that already. I don't think anyone's information has NOT been breached in some way or form at this point! I totally agree with needing better consumer protection and accountability with repercussions for these breaches!
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Old 09-09-17, 01:23 PM  
eam531
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ITA with Cyana. This is really serious.

I'm really sorry that the OP had problems setting up the security freezes. We set up security freezes at the 3 major credit bureaus. We didn't have a problem. We will also put fraud alerts on our credit reports. Those only last 3 months, but they can be renewed. Here's some info from the Federal Trade Commission

There is a fourth, little-known credit bureau called Innovis. It would be a good idea to set up a freeze there, too.

We doubt seriously we will sign up for the free credit monitoring that Equifax is offering. For one thing, it's only for 1 year. For another, Equifax owns the credit monitoring company. IMO the security freeze is a much better way to deal with this.

Aside from the security freeze, you should check your bank account and credit card accounts assiduously in real time, rather than wait for monthly statements.

Go to the only legitimate free credit report site: AnnualCreditReport.com. Don't bother with the other ones. You can view each report once a year for free. What I do is this--every 4 months, I request a different report--first report is Experian; 4 months later is Equifax; 4 months later is TransUnion. I have this marked on my phone calendar. That way, you see your credit report info 3 times a year from the different companies, and you don't have to pay. I hope this makes sense. Annual Credit Report does not include reports from Innovis; you have to get them from Innovis.

I've read in several reputable places that credit monitoring companies (like Lifelock and others, including the ones owned by the credit bureaus) are not really worth the money.

Hope some of this helps.
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Old 09-09-17, 01:54 PM  
cyana
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Kittybug - I've read there will be some people who will receive letters by mail, but it did not sound as though they plan to contact everyone who was potentially affected.

Totally agree with Betsy on using annualcreditreport.com to get your reports. You do not have to pay an agency to get these when you can do it for yourself for free - and there are plenty of entities who will charge an arm and a leg to perform this service. I'd never heard of Innovis, so I learned something new today.

This would be a good time to sign up for real time notifications from your bank, as well.
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Old 09-09-17, 02:22 PM  
LoveVA
 
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I've had security freezes on the big 3 for at years and just added Innovis last year.

KSleeth, I would keep trying with the other 2. Maybe call them and find out what the problem is? I also think security freezes are more than worth the money and the Equifax debacle proves it. I have had to unfreeze my reports a few times and it was a very easy process.

I'm not bothering with the free monitoring service. I check my credit reports regularly throughout the year and not much can be done with my personal info anyway with the freezes in place.

And no, they are not sending out notifications to everyone. Only those whose credit card numbers were also accessed in this hack.
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Old 09-09-17, 03:03 PM  
bee
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I heard a local tech expert on the radio saying that these hackers are sometimes extremely patient about using the data they get -- waiting for all of us to get complacent again, I guess. They also mentioned that a former intern at the radio station had his identity stolen at some point and he was in trouble with police in Mississippi (I think it was), because the thief bought a car using the intern's name, then crashed it, so the authorities were trying to get him to pony up and be responsible for this accident he caused. Except, he didn't. This was apparently after he thought he had fixed his stolen identity problems. Yuck!
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Old 09-09-17, 06:40 PM  
ksleeth
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cyana View Post
Is it state specific that you can't freeze with the other 2 credit reporting agencies, or are you referring to not being able to freeze without paying for one?
I didn't see anything about the state and they did ask for my cc before they said they were unable to process the freeze. Sure hope they don't charge me. There were numbers to call for both of them so I will call on Monday. I just wanted to take care of it in one full swoop.

eam531 - Thank you for the info on Innovis. I had no idea. I also used the annualcreditreport.com when I initially ran our reports. That is a wonderful idea to check each every 4 months!

Thank you everyone for all for your input. I will for sure pass on the monitoring companies and be proactive myself!
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Old 09-09-17, 06:52 PM  
sgel4
 
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Would they send you notice in an e-mail?
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Old 09-09-17, 07:15 PM  
cyana
 
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Would they send you notice in an e-mail?
I would be highly suspect of anything received via e-mail. If if is something supposedly from a credit reporting agency, I would go to their web site and get the phone number and contact them directly. Typically these official notifications are sent via US mail. People can also spoof phone numbers, so if someone called saying they were your bank, I'd hang up and call your bank directly. Or go in person and speak with your banker.

I've just finished signing up for every notification available from my bank as well as setting up a credit freeze through Innovis.
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