Yes, the Equifax thing is real.
Update 7/30/2019: The settlement for the 2017 incident has been reached. Take a moment to click and protect yourself with the options offered by the settlement. If the words “class action suit” sound scary or have little meaning for you, don’t worry, this is one class action suit that you can and should easily take part in. https://www.cnet.com/how-to/equifax-data-breach-how-to-claim-125-now-in-ftc-settlement/
Yes, you should check your status at http://EquifaxSecurity2017.com . It takes less than 30 seconds.
Yes, you will need to enter a partial social security number at the site to find out if you were affected by the recent data breach. Click the big button on the left that says “Potential Impact” to find out if you were affected.
No, you should NOT put your entire social security number into any similar site, since there are already documented fake sites from this incident trying to steal your info.
No, you don’t have to enroll in the Equifax credit monitoring protection. It’s up to you.
Yes, you can still request your credit report for free from each of the 3 large credit bureaus once each year. They are Equifax, TransUnion, and of course, Equifax. Check with one each 4 months, spreading out your own monitoring.
Yes, it really is safe and free at http://AnnualCreditReport.com The only source for your free credit reports. Authorized by Federal law.
Here’s some more good information about the difference between a fraud alert and credit freeze. This is one more tool available to you in the war against fraud.
Yes, we live in the digital world, and managing our digital identity is the price we pay for all that online convenience.Just like when we dealt with the Target data breach a few years ago, regularly monitoring our own personal records is the ounce of prevention that could be worth a pound of cure later.
