How to Know if You Were Hacked by Equifax
Finding out that your personal data was compromised and may take gotten into the wrong hands is never good news. And many Americans institute this out the hard way due to a information alienation involving Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus.
To find out whether you're one of the millions of Americans whose personal data may accept been compromised during the massive Equifax data alienation that occurred in 2017, you tin visit a specific website and fill in basic information to cheque your status. The initial deadline to file a claim in the Equifax settlement was in January 2020, merely you may still exist eligible for additional assistance, including free identity restoration services, through 2026. Knowing the all-time means to go along your personal information safe tin can also be helpful if something like happens in the future.
Equifax is one of the three major credit bureaus, alongside Experian and TransUnion. It collects financial information nearly millions of Americans, including details most their debts, to help make up one's mind their creditworthiness and whether they're risky for fiscal institutions to lend to. It also sells services, such as fraud protection and credit monitoring, straight to consumers and helps people keep track of their credit status.
Aside from obtaining your credit report and score, you tin utilize Equifax to protect yourself from identity theft, use various tools to prepare to brand a large purchase (such as a domicile or new automobile) and obtain a free copy of your Equifax credit report, which shows credit-related information about you. Yous can besides enact alerts and freeze reporting when y'all demand to inform lenders that you've been (or could become) a victim of fraud.
Was My Data Role of the Breach?
In September 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 one thousand thousand people had taken place. Amid the compromised information were home addresses, phone numbers, nativity dates, names, drivers license numbers and Social Security numbers. The attack also breached credit card numbers and expiration dates of almost 209,000 customers. Following the attack, Equifax created a separate website, https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/, for individuals to use to find out whether their information had been compromised every bit part of this alienation.
If you're not sure whether your data has been compromised, y'all can visit the official settlement website for the Equifax Information Alienation Settlement at https://world wide web.equifaxsecurity2017.com. To start, fill out your last proper name and the last six digits of your Social Security number. From there, yous'll notice out whether your personal information was exposed during the breach.
How Tin I Proceed My Personal Information Safe?
Yous're legally allowed to get a gratuitous copy of your credit study from every credit reporting bureau every 12 months. Once you lot obtain your report, rummage through it to ensure that all of your information is updated and correct. Reviewing your reports on a regular basis allows you to potentially grab warning signs of identity theft. Wait for unpaid accounts that you're certain you didn't open.
Some other option is to put a freeze or lock on your credit report. You can practice this with Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Each of these iii major credit bureaus also lets you identify fraud alerts on your credit report. This notice lets lenders and others who pull your credit report know that you may have been a victim of identity theft and some information that appears on your credit report may be wrong.
What Happens Now?
Post-obit the data alienation, a lawsuit was generated between affected individuals, Equifax Inc. and two of its subsidiaries. Nether the settlement, Equifax agreed to pay $425 meg to aid those affected by its data breach.
If you were impacted by the breach, you could exist eligible for reimbursement upwardly to $20,000 to help cover the coin you spent to protect yourself confronting identity theft, including freezing or unfreezing credit reports, and the time you spent protecting your identity or recovering from identity theft.
The initial borderline for filing a merits in the Equifax settlement was January 22, 2020. Notwithstanding, you tin withal file a merits for expenses incurred between January 23, 2020, and Jan 22, 2024, regarding fraud related to the alienation or identity theft. You can also file a merits for time spent recovering from fraud or identity theft during this time period. If you lot don't file a claim, you may still exist able to go free identity restoration services along with half dozen free credit reports through 2026, in improver to your one complimentary Equifax report.
Source: https://www.askmoney.com/investing/was-my-equifax-account-hacked?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D1465803%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
0 Response to "How to Know if You Were Hacked by Equifax"
Post a Comment