BBB ADVICE IN THE WAKE OF THE EQUIFAX CYBERSECURITY INCIDENT

Buffalo, NY (September 8, 2017)—Equifax, Inc. this week announced that it was the target of a cybersecurity incident that could potentially impact over 143 million U.S. consumers.

People can use this website to see if their information is part of the breach:

https://trustedidpremier.com/eligibility/eligibility.html

Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York has some suggestions if you were affected by the cybersecurity incident:

• Do not take a “wait and see” approach. Breaches involving personal information have the potential to be far more detrimental to victims, and the damage can be difficult to repair.

• Consider taking a preemptive strike by freezing your credit reports. This will not impact existing credit cards and financial accounts, but will create a roadblock for thieves seeking to create fraudulent accounts using your personal information. Visit go.bbb.org/creditfreeze for more information.

• If you know your Social Security number has been compromised, place a fraud alert on your credit reports. While less effective than a freeze, this will provide an extra layer of protection.

• Take advantage of any free credit monitoring services offered by Equifax to breach victims. While this is not a preventive measure, this will alert you to new accounts or inquiries using your Social Security number so that you can act quickly to repair the damage.

• Vigilance is critical. Regularly check your credit reports at annualcreditreport.com for unauthorized charges or other signs of fraud (NOTE: This is the only free credit report option authorized by the Federal Trade Commission).

For more information and complete step-by-step guidance on repairing the damage caused by identity theft, visit the FTC’s identity theft resources site: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft. Equifax also set up a website with information about the breach: equifaxsecurity2017.com.

For real-time scam information, check out BBB’s Scam Tracker. For consumer tips and other information you can trust, visit follow us on Twitter and Facebook.