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Equifax Data Breach could affect 143 million customers
- Thread starter PsychoSoldier
- Start date
They share fraud alerts, not freezes.
Pandora012
Member
There are actually more than the big 3 for credit. Both Innovis and Chexsystems are not widely known. I did a freeze on Innovis as Krebs mentioned it. Haven't done one with Chex though.
The Innovis and Chexsystem freezes are easy as fuck and take literally less than a minute to do, so I'd highly recommend adding them on.
Try calling. Might be easier.
How did you get through Equi? Phone or online? How long ago?
Ive been trying non stop but cant get through. Was able to do it on the other 2.
Very Berry Sunday
Member
https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/
Anyone that weren't affected by the data breach according to this link
Did you still freeze your credit?
Anyone that weren't affected by the data breach according to this link
Did you still freeze your credit?
Weird, it was the opposite for me. Experian processed my request online with no problems, but Equifax and Transunion failed both online and over the phone.
Thx, I'll keep trying.
mdsfx
Member
I had to call Equifax on the phone like 10 times today before it finally worked. Experian took a while too.
TransUnion is the only one with their shit together of the big 3 on this tbh.
For Equifax? I believe so. When I froze them, they gave me one of the garbage PINs so I still have to reset it.
Thx, I had to take a break bcs my stress levels were waayyyy too high and I still need to do my wife's freezes. I'll try calling Equi in a little while.
I agree that TU was the more smooth and easiest of all.
This is how it went for me:
Innovis and Chexsystems: Easy as fuck online for both my husband and me.
TU: I had an account from the fraud alert so was easily able to do it online. Called my husband's in and that was easy as fuck, no issues.
Experian: Was able to do my husband's online but not mine for some reason. Took a few tries to call it in, was getting busy signals and shit.
Equifax: Was not able to do online at all. Looks like, according to my records, I had to call them a total of 12 times to get both my husband and mine's done. I would get busy signals or it would fail in the middle of doing it.
Also if you are looking for the right numbers to call, this USA Today article is surprisingly helpful.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...eeze-my-credit-there-were-problems/663014001/
My husband brought up a good point that we should have our folks do this as well. They're old and certainly more at risk due to not being as savvy as us. All you need to freeze over the phone is SSN, birth date, and home address, so I might just ask my folks if they want me to do it for them.
esmith08734
Member
Was able to freeze through TransUnion and Experia but not Equifax. Did TransUnion online and Experia through the automated guy on the phone.
esmith08734
Member
I signed up for Initial Fraud Alert via TransUnion. Is this a good move?
Just got a card in the mail informing me that TransUnion got my 90 day fraud alert notice, so at least I know there's that level of protection for me. I'm trying to lock down my TransUnion credit file through their True Identity service, but I keep getting a busy error. Waiting for Equifax to sent me my e-mail for their PremiereID service so I can lock down my file with them through that.
direct_quote
Member
I heard over npr (local affiliate) that credit freezes only help protect against a small portion of credit fraud.. Is that true? Any financial/credit/identity theft experts on here?
I'm wondering because I just did a fraud alert, and will continue to monitor my credit instead of freezes, though debating the freezes...
I'm wondering because I just did a fraud alert, and will continue to monitor my credit instead of freezes, though debating the freezes...
mdsfx
Member
Just heard that same story and came here to ask as well.
esmith08734
Member
Not sure about any of this, I just froze via TransUnion and Experia and have fraud alert set up with TransUnion and will continue to monitor my credit. This is a bit scary.
SoundofSilence
Member
Fantastic. I hope Equifax is sued into oblivion. Since no one will go to prison (ever), the next best thing is to wipe out the company forever.
That's odd, I was able to do Experian's with their automated system yesterday.
CouchDweller
Member
Said fuck it and rolled the dice on equifax's "Potential Impact" link, not affected.
Although i'm not sure how much I trust even that.
Although i'm not sure how much I trust even that.
If you keep reading, I was able to do mine over the phone. Did my husband's online though.
Dr.Horrible
Member
It was probably this I'm guessing.
http://www.npr.org/2017/09/14/550949718/after-equifax-data-breach-consumers-are-largely-on-their-own
I didn't see any other commentary regarding that quote though and certainly if a freeze can prevent some level of crime then it is worth it imo.
Sorry for the late reply, glad it worked out for you though.
Unknown Soldier
Member
I went to this site and first it said we believe your information was not affected (OH THANK GOD)
Then I clicked on the enroll button and it suddenly changed to we believe your information WAS affected (WHAT THE FUCK)
And then I couldn't go any further to attempt to enroll
This site is trash, and so is Equifax. I hope they are sued into oblivion and go bankrupt soon.
There needs to be serious reform of credit reporting done in this country.
Also can we please get a National Identifier law passed so we can stop using the goddamned SSN as some kind of critical identification for American citizens?
In the short term, the Social Security Administration has to get a system set up to allow citizens to change their SSNs because 143 million Americans are now completely compromised.
SapphiCine
Member
Tried to enroll in TrustedID Premier but never an email. :|
quackamole
Member
Does freezing your credit with the 3 bureaus stops you from getting your annual credit report?
I was trying to help my mom go through all the steps to protect her but since she has so little credit history, IE only ever had a few checking and saving accounts, never had cresit card/car/mortgage loans etc. I wasn't able to get a credit report on her from the annualcreditreport website. I filled out their paper request form and mailed it, the form says it could take 15 business days or more for them to get back to me.
Should I wait for the credit report to get here before trying to call and freeze my mom's credit? Or can I freeze it and it won't affect her from getting her annual credit report?
I was trying to help my mom go through all the steps to protect her but since she has so little credit history, IE only ever had a few checking and saving accounts, never had cresit card/car/mortgage loans etc. I wasn't able to get a credit report on her from the annualcreditreport website. I filled out their paper request form and mailed it, the form says it could take 15 business days or more for them to get back to me.
Should I wait for the credit report to get here before trying to call and freeze my mom's credit? Or can I freeze it and it won't affect her from getting her annual credit report?
Vanillalite
Ask me about the GAF Notebook
The amount of shit coming out about this is fucking maddening. What also gets me is it's not just Equifax, but a lot of companies have high ranking execs making tech decisions they have no clue about.
The fact that Maudlin suddenly didn't have a LinkedIn page due to fact that that she was a music Major in both undergrad and grad school isn't a one off.
There are a ton of "Business" execs making tech decisions that they have no clue over that effect millions of consumers everyday.
The fact that Maudlin suddenly didn't have a LinkedIn page due to fact that that she was a music Major in both undergrad and grad school isn't a one off.
There are a ton of "Business" execs making tech decisions that they have no clue over that effect millions of consumers everyday.
Various Artists
Banned
I was trying to explain to someone yesterday that I am not so sure that changing a SSN is as quick a fix as it may seem at first. Given the plethora of data that seems to have been obtained (entire credit history) it would seem easy enough to me to see people that changed their SSN still have that number leaked by an unsuspecting person in the know that would have it on file. (like bank creditors etc.) They have all your information what information would they not be able to confirm if asked? So granted this would only be if you were targeted specifically, otherwise a would be fraudster could more easily move onto the next name on the list. But given the extent of the list it would seem like if you have a financial record at all, it would most likely be sometime before it could be considered secure in any way at all. Also, keep in mind you are just one name on a list of 143,000,000. So odds should be in your favor that your "number" could never get picked. In general I am of the mind of freezing the reports for now and see how things begin to shake out. Maybe it is not the safest line of thinking right now, however, changing every bank you use, every credit card you have, refinancing all debts, and changing your SSN in the event of that your number gets picked are extreme actions given the odds. (based on what we know right now)
The other thoughts I have are that there will likely be a list of people that people would like to do harm to via identity theft and what not. (public figures, people that disagree with someones religion or political affiliations) Then if the whole list were to ever be "publicly" leaked it would most likely being people looking up friends or family members to see what their score is. While nosey and annoying, they are not likely to commit ID theft.
Nope, just got my husband's and we froze everything yesterday. It does note on the report that it is frozen.
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Unreal.
We've got to do something about the identity/SSN issue in this country. There HAS to be a better way. Fingerprint/retina scanning? I honestly don't know what else they could do.
wat
Ron Mexico
Member
Couple additional PSAs regarding the freezing/thawing process:
The thawing process is not necessarily instantaneous. The longest I've seen is 3 business days but that was before the deluge of freezes following this shitshow. If you're in a situation requiring an urgent/immediate need for credit, know that the app won't be processed until the thaw is in place. Sounds like common sense of course, but trust me, it's been an issue in the past.
Also, most of the customer-facing folk don't know which bureau is being used to pull your credit. Several banks I've worked for applied their own risk criteria so the score we saw on the front end was the result of their calculations and not raw FICO data. In this case, if the rep doesn't know, I would contact the underwriting department of the lender and ask for further details unless you want to thaw all 3 simultaneously. Again, depending on your urgency in regards to obtaining credit, be prepared for potential delays.
Side note: many (most?) credit unions will pull credit as part of their process to establish membership. This will be in conjunction with Chexsystems and a couple other non-credit related inquiries. I've seen cases where membership was refused because the credit report was inaccessible.
Ultimately, though I work in the industry, I'm of course still a consumer, I was impacted by the Equifax breach. I froze my reports and would encourage others to do the same. Just with that, know there's going to be the potential for headaches down the line (of course those headaches are nothing compared to the risk of identity theft).
Lastly, it's been mentioned before, but annualcreditreport.com is one of your best assets. Even before this breach and especially after, it's a good practice to make it a habit of pulling all 3 reports once per year. Due diligence on its own won't protect us 100%, but it will never hurt.
The thawing process is not necessarily instantaneous. The longest I've seen is 3 business days but that was before the deluge of freezes following this shitshow. If you're in a situation requiring an urgent/immediate need for credit, know that the app won't be processed until the thaw is in place. Sounds like common sense of course, but trust me, it's been an issue in the past.
Also, most of the customer-facing folk don't know which bureau is being used to pull your credit. Several banks I've worked for applied their own risk criteria so the score we saw on the front end was the result of their calculations and not raw FICO data. In this case, if the rep doesn't know, I would contact the underwriting department of the lender and ask for further details unless you want to thaw all 3 simultaneously. Again, depending on your urgency in regards to obtaining credit, be prepared for potential delays.
Side note: many (most?) credit unions will pull credit as part of their process to establish membership. This will be in conjunction with Chexsystems and a couple other non-credit related inquiries. I've seen cases where membership was refused because the credit report was inaccessible.
Ultimately, though I work in the industry, I'm of course still a consumer, I was impacted by the Equifax breach. I froze my reports and would encourage others to do the same. Just with that, know there's going to be the potential for headaches down the line (of course those headaches are nothing compared to the risk of identity theft).
Lastly, it's been mentioned before, but annualcreditreport.com is one of your best assets. Even before this breach and especially after, it's a good practice to make it a habit of pulling all 3 reports once per year. Due diligence on its own won't protect us 100%, but it will never hurt.