TL;DR
Equifax messed up, big time. Protect yourself via the resources provided in this QuickNote!
Estimated Reading Time: 1 minute
Screenshots of today’s news:
The Basics
USA population: 323.1 million
Adversely impacted by Equifax hack: 143 million
Do the math, deducting for children forming part of the population number. Equifax’s stash includes all the goodies identity thieves adore: Social Security number, birthdate… ya know, all the details requested by most creditors.
We have a right to freeze credit accounts. Some states, like North Carolina, require free freezes. Find your state’s law by googling: (state) credit freeze fee. Or, tap the links provided in The Resources section below, presented to assist your self-protection measures.
The News
- Statistics: USA Population
- NYT: Equifax Says Cyberattack May Have Affected 143 Million in the U.S.
- Beware of Equifax “Free” Credit Monitoring Offer
- Bloomberg: Three Equifax Managers Sold Stock Before Cyber Hack (Publicly) Revealed (“insider trading,” anyone?)
The Resources
- Natl Conference of State Legislatures: Consumer Report Security Freeze State Laws → Who can file request
- Details, including fees, of all 50 states
- State Attorney General/ NC: Free Freeze (all can be handled online)
- Clark Howard : Credit Freeze Guide: The best way to protect yourself against identity theft
- FTC: Credit Freeze FAQs | Consumer Information
- What to know before you check Equifax Security 2017 data breach website – The Washington Post
Special Note
Friday night closed with Equifax’s claim that certain provisions, within the Terms of Service re its purported hack-help website, do not apply to the hack incident. Understand: virtually every contract includes an adhesion clause. That’s legalese for: nothing said, by anyone, at any time, under any circumstance, overrides the terms of this agreement. We all know how to delete a section from a digital document. Equifax chose not to do so. If you choose to believe this latest Equifax announcement, call me– collect; I got a bridge to sell ya …
Call to Action