Equifax Breach

[skywalkrNCSU]

There better be some people going to jail. There was some obvious insider trading going on.

[SeriousStudent]

A couple of questions. Perhaps rhetorical, perhaps not.

For those using the provided link to check if they were part of the data released in the breach: Why would you trust Equifax to have properly scoped the extent of the data compromised? Are you SURE they are right you were not impacted?

For those who will take them up on the promised credit monitoring: How has Equifax as an organization suddenly earned your trust again after this breach?

Personally, I would treat myself as an impacted person. I would contact all four major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, Trans Union and Innovis (people always seem to forget them) and place a permanent freeze on your credit. You will have the ability to temporarily lift it as needed. If you are applying for a loan or credit, ask the lender who they use, and just lift that one temporarily.

As an InfoSec geek, I can tell you this is a big freaking deal. It's one thing when a merchant or lender is compromised. They send you a new credit card or account number, and life marches on.

But, however, comma, how exactly does one change their date of birth, address and Social Security number? (Insert sound of crickets chirping...)


A few helpful links below:

https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freez...onalIDInfo.jsp

https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

https://www.transunion.com/credit-fr...-credit-freeze

https://www.innovis.com/securityFreeze

[SeriousStudent]

Oh, and one other thing, just to add a cherry on the doo-doo cupcake.

If you were impacted, make damn sure you file your taxes as soon as you have your W-2's in January. Because if someone got your name, address and SSN, there is not much stopping them from filing a fraudulent tax return and getting your refund, if any.

(Attention thieves: The joke would be on you, I usually end up paying a few hundred bucks every year, and I'm cool with that.)

[T2C]

Thank you for the information Serious Student. You saved me some leg work.

[Hmac]

I have an appointment with my financial advisor people next week. This will be a good topic to add to the discussion.

[SeriousStudent]

T2C - you are most welcome, glad to be of assistance.

Hmac - Yes, I would definitely bring it up with your advisor. Making sure you reset/change/strengthen the passwords on all your accounts and funds is probably a good idea. Plus checking them very regularly is also good.

I actually use a specific computer, a "hardened" laptop, just for financial transactions. That is the only thing it's used for - period. When not in use, it stays locked in one of the gun safes. Booted up, do the chores, power off and back in the safe. I also never have any websites "remember" passwords. I generate a unique 20-character password for every website, and write them down in a notebook. That stays in the safe as well.

The laptop does not even have a hard drive, I have it boot from a "live CD" with an operating system which just vanishes as soon as it's powered off. You can find a cheap used laptop without a hard drive on eBay for $60.

https://tails.boum.org/

If someone breaks in here at Rancho Serious and gets into that particular gun safe with all my NFA goodies, I have other problems to worry about besides a little paper notebook.

And as if I have to say it, never, ever reuse passwords between websites.

Here's a link to a password generator.

https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm

It generates 63-character ones. Just cut 20 out of the middle somewhere. You can also just copy/paste them onto a text document (notepad, Word, etc) and then just scribble the name of the website/account next to it. Lock it in the gunsafe, and you just did more in five minutes to secure yourself than most people ever do.

[Hmac]

Hmac - Yes, I would definitely bring it up with your advisor. Making sure you reset/change/strengthen the passwords on all your accounts and funds is probably a good idea. Plus checking them very regularly is also good.

I check Credit Karma about once a week. Their credit score is kind of a joke, but as a relative point of reference it's probably useful, especially if compared to my actual FICO score that I get as part of my Visa card. More importantly, it does give me a (slightly watered-down) version of my credit activity. I'll see any new accounts being opened, or any credit inquiries from attempts to open new credit lines.

I was reluctant to sign up with them years ago, but actually they have been FAR less intrusive from a SPAM standpoint than, say, the NRA.....

[pinzgauer]

And a reminder for those that sign up for Equifax's free year of protection watch out for an automatic renewal cost. Make sure you look through the details so you know how and when you need to cancel if you don't plan to keep it after the year.

Sent from my Alcatel 6055U using Tapatalk

From their terms and FAQ:

After the one-year complimentary subscription expires, will the product renew?

The product will expire after one year. We are not requesting consumers’ credit card information when they sign up for the free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection we are offering to all U.S. consumers. Consumers who sign up for TrustedID Premier will not be automatically enrolled or charged after the conclusion of the complimentary year of TrustedID Premier.

[Hmac]

Yeah, at no point in the sign-up process was a credit card involved.

[WillBrink]

Just gonna leave this here...