Survival Guide for the Equifax Data Breach
So what can you as an individual do NOW to minimize the fallout from this breach and survive it with minimal financial consequences? Here are a few tips:
1. Find out if you were affected.
Equifax has created a dedicated website to determine if you were affected. Make sure you are using the official Equifax site and do not fall for phishing scams or fraudulent links received via emails. Further, enroll in the 1 year complimentary identity theft protection and credit file monitoring service (TrustedID Premier) being offered through their website. This includes:
- Equifax Credit Report
- 3 Bureau Credit file monitoring
- Equifax Credit Report Lock
- Social Security Number Monitoring
- $1M Identity Theft Insurance
2. Check your credit report immediately
Remember, per Equifax, the breach was “discovered on July 29 but could have started as early as mid-May 2017”. This means that your data was compromised more than 3 months back. So check your credit report (received as part of the TrustedID Premier) to make sure that there were no fraudulent activities posted. If you suspect someone used your identity to open credit cards, or secure loans, contact the credit card company’s fraud department immediately. You are not responsible for charges made on a fraudulent card, but you have to report the issue in a timely manner.
3. To freeze or not to freeze
The objective is to make it difficult (enough!) for the identity thief to be able to misuse your information to get credit. While credit monitoring is a good step it is highly recommended that you freeze your credit or at least enroll in “Credit report lock” service for each of the credit agencies if your current financial activities permit you to do so. These services may not be free but may be worth the expense. Alternatively, you can also place a “Fraud alert” on your account. It is free and can be enabled by calling any 1 of the 3 credit reporting companies. They must tell the other 2 companies. It lasts for 90 days and flags your account making it difficult for an identity thief to open accounts in your name as a business is required to contact you before it issues credit. Plus it can be renewed for free after 90 days, so mark your calendar and renew it.
4. What about your existing bank accounts?
What can a fraudster equipped with your name, SSN, birth date and address do to your existing bank accounts? This information along with additional information available from your social media accounts may be sufficient for someone to get access to your online bank accounts using “Forgot my UserID or password” method. So to further protect your existing accounts against such attacks make sure that you enable the highest level of authentication feature provided by your bank like One time passwords, etc. Further, make sure you enable all sorts of alerts (emails/sms text) associated with any account activity. Think of all other financial institutions and their online access too. A little vigilance on your part will go a long way to protect your financial assets.
5. What else?
Remember, the most common misuse of SSN happens during the tax season when fraudsters try to use stolen SSNs to file fraudulent tax returns and receive refunds from IRS. Considering that it is September right now, chances are that you will be distracted, move onto other priorities and forget it by Christmas. Make a calendar entry and make every effort to file your taxes as early as possible next year.
Do you have more questions pertaining to your security status? Withum’s Cyber Secure Servicesteam is able to help you find the best approach to ensure your personal and business information is secured. They also are able to help you prepare yourself should a breach occur and assist with the aftermath of a breach. For more information please contact a member of our Cyber Services team by filling out the form below.
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