Equifax Breach - Were You Impacted?

Because we live in a tech savvy society, we must remain proactive in maintaining our personal and business information from reach the worldwide web and becoming an identity theft target. I decided to check into the recent Equifax breach and learn all I could about its impact on U.S. citizens.

Well, I'm glad I did, because I found that I was impacted. According to the recent investigation performed by the Cybersecurity firm Mandiant, they have concluded as of October 2, 2017 the following :

The completed review determined that approximately 2.5 million additional U.S. consumers were potentially impacted, for a total of 145.5 million. Mandiant did not identify any evidence of additional or new attacker activity or any access to new databases or tables. Instead, this additional population of consumers was confirmed during Mandiant’s completion of the remaining investigative tasks and quality assurance procedures built into the investigative process. The completed review also has concluded that there is no evidence the attackers accessed databases located outside of the United States.

Mandiant has also stated the following:

The information accessed primarily includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. In addition, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 U.S. consumers, and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers, were accessed. As part of its investigation of this application vulnerability, Equifax also identified unauthorized access to limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents. Equifax will work with UK and Canadian regulators to determine appropriate next steps. The company has found no evidence that personal information of consumers in any other country has been impacted.

To determine if you were targeted and what steps you need to take to further protect yourself, you can go to Equifax's website and put in your information (that is at least placed on a secure sight) and you will receive an immediate response if you were or were not impacted with the Equifax breach.

To verify your status go to: https://equifaxsecurity2017.co... and click on the "Am I impacted" link. As an alternative, you can contact a dedicated call center at 866-447-7559, which the company set up to assist consumers. The call center is open every day (including weekends) from 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. Eastern time. Equifax wil also send out direct mail to consumeras who have been breached. I would not suggest waiting for that to arrive since Equifax knew of the breach

If you find your personal information has been impacted, you will also have the opportunity to sign up for free credit monitoring through TrustedID Premier. This will include 3-Bureau credit monitoring of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit reports; copies of Equifax credit reports; the ability to lock and unlock Equifax credit reports; identity theft insurance; and Internet scanning for Social Security numbers – all complimentary to U.S. consumers for one year. The website also provides additional information on steps consumers can take to protect their personal information.

To enroll in TrustedID Premier, you will be asked to provide additional information to verify your identity including a valid email address and mobile number. Within a few days, you will receive an email with a link to activate TrustedID Premier. When you begin, you will be asked to provide your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number so we can determine if you may have been impacted by this incident. Regardless of whether your information may have been impacted or not, they will provide you the option to enroll in TrustedID Premier.

When the email arrives, follow the link to verify your email address and complete your enrollment. You will create a password and verify your identity by answering a few brief questions that only you should know. TrustedID Premier will then be active. The enrollment period ends on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 instead of November 21, 2017.

To apply for free one year credit monitoring, you will need to click on a link that looks like this:

I pray you were not impacted, but if you were, you can further protect your assests by taking advantage of the free credit and protection monitoring. I did and would even if I were not affected by the Equifax breach. I am Phildora, and I approve this message.