Credit reporting firm Equifax revealed the breach of 143 million consumers’ personal and confidential financial data, yelps of outrage have only grown bigger.
It needs Congress to pass legislation allowing consumers to temporarily credit freeze and unfreeze their own credit files at no charge to help thwart identity theft. For its part, Equifax is offering consumers a free credit freeze and one year of credit monitoring to compensate for a breach that permanently increases their risk of identity theft.
People whose Social Security number or credit card information has been disclosed can’t wait for reforms or depend on a limited operating service.
Equifax recently discovered that criminals had gained access to people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, address and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers.
Those who are not affected by the breach should proceed as if they were, one of 313 hacking or unintentional disclosures this year as tracked by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
If thieves have your information, here are the steps you have to follow to not to get affected by it:
Don’t depend on system that has already failed:
Credit reporting firms make money by selling that information to creditors, which use it to see if they want to do business with you. It collects data on how you’ve repaid debts you’ve incurred. It includes birth dates, addresses, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers, the skeleton keys to your financial life.
“We are the commodity, not the customer,” attorney Chi Chi Wu of the National Consumer Law Center said. “We can’t decide, ‘Oh, I don’t want to deal with Equifax, so just send my data to the other credit bureaus.’ We don’t get to decide which credit bureaus we want to deal with.”
But there is no guarantee that there is no protection even after the safety procedures.
“You should cross your fingers that the bureau system that was unable to protect your information in the past will do so in the future via that bureau’s freeze, lock, monitoring or ID theft protection programs,” said Barry Paperno, who blogs at Speaking of Credit.
There is no alternative for your own responsibility of your financial statements and credit records and acting immediately to limit the damage. Assume that you are totally affected.
Keep a look on suspicious charges of your credit card:
Fraudulent charges may be applicable before you notice. Accounts must be checked online or an alert may be set. But your best protection from liability depends on alerting your issuer in a timely trend.
Check your credit scores and reports:
This can be done by anyone. Many personal finance websites and some credit card issuers offer free scores and credit report information you can access anytime.
Decision to be taken on securing ones data:
A firewall is to be offered against your data being misused because it restricts access to your records. Cost is $10 per credit reporting firm. An additional payment has to be made for lifting the freeze later if you want to apply for new credit.
Fake alerts provide less protection like flagging lenders and card issuers that credit applications should receive extra scrutiny. A lender will contact you to verify a credit application. The service is free, but most alerts last only 90 days unless you renew them.
Freezes don’t always come cheap, either. There can be a fee each time you add, lift or remove a freeze and you’ll face up to three fees for taking that action with each company. Rates differ by company and state, as well as details including your age and whether you’ve been a victim of identity theft. Fees also vary by the kind of action you’re taking. For example, in Iowa, placing a freeze might be free, $5 or $10, depending on which type you are.
All three credit reporting firms have some sort of “credit lock” service, and they may provide these as an option when you try to freeze your credit. It’s not difficult to lift a lock when you want to apply for credit, but locks don’t block access as thoroughly as a freeze. And the lock services at all three credit reporting firms require you to waive your right to participate in a class-action lawsuit and use arbitration instead. Cost of a lock differs from free to more than $20 a month.