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Thread: Equifax leak?

  1. #11
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Personally I'm considering locking down my credit reports. Having a credit card stolen is no big deal. Having my social security number stolen is a whole different story.

    An article I read today (don't know the accuracy) said that you can sign up for the equifax credit monitoring and still opt out of their assholish arbitration agreement by sending them a snail mail letter. Details in this link: https://www.valuepenguin.com/2017/09...ax-data-breach

  2. #12
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rogar View Post
    I could imagine that once a person has you name, address, and social there are a multitude of identity theft schemes that could be more damaging.
    And this is what bae is trying to point out. The media should be SCREAMING about what a disaster this is. A whole lot of people are going to eventually realize how mofo serious this is only after they get royally and truthfully f'ed. A new credit card number is easy to get. A new social security number it not possible. Let me repeat, if your SSN has been stolen it will NEVER BE SECURE AGAIN. You will spend the rest of your life struggling with this issue.

  3. #13
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jp1 View Post
    You will spend the rest of your life struggling with this issue.
    It's not that bad.

    On my Black Hat mailing list, the following simple steps are suggested to protect your identity/security, moving forward:

    - change your social security number
    - change all your previous and current addresses
    - change your previous phone numbers
    - change your mother's maiden name
    - change the amounts and institutions of all previous paid-off loans
    - change all employers you may have worked for in the past
    - change the names of all the people you may have married in the past
    - grow up in a different town, and change the names of your elementary and middle school
    - your high-school sweet-heart, change her name
    - buy different cars in the past, especially your first one

    There are a few more, but you get the idea.

  4. #14
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jp1 View Post
    Personally I'm considering locking down my credit reports.
    This is a very very very very good thing to do.

  5. #15
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    We locked our credit some time ago. Hubby also monitors our credit cards. He has electronic notification of all transactions. Previously he had used $100 for notifications but many problem transactions can be as low as $1 so he changed that to all.

    Note, in Indiana it apparently is a law that they cannot charge for this service.
    Last edited by sweetana3; 9-10-17 at 11:30am.

  6. #16
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Please explain what is meant by "locking down one's credit report". This is the first that I have heard of it.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  7. #17
    Yppej
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    I just read an article about this and thought it was a good idea. I locked my credit report with Experian for $5, no issues. Then I went to Equifax. They put the lock in place with no fee (leading me to believe it's free as a remedy because my data was compromised), but then they didn't show me my PIN. Instead I got a message "couldn't open PDF". I tried again to get to the site but it only give me options to lift the lock. So if I ever need to apply for credit I won't be able to because I don't have the PIN to temporarily lift the lock. I feel like I just made things worse for myself. Since I don't have hours to sit on hold and probably not get to a live person anyways I am writing them a letter complete with screen shots telling them they need to fix this or I am going to the appropriate governmental authorities. I will wait to see the upshot of that before doing anything with Transunion.

    I hope this problem kills Equifax as a company. If no one used them anymore it wouldn't matter but everything from job applications to homeowners insurance is tied to these credit reports.

  8. #18
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    I understand that Equifax will be monitoring the compromised accounts for one year. Heads Up to the crooks: wait 366 days before using data. <Just kidding.>

  9. #19
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    Please explain what is meant by "locking down one's credit report". This is the first that I have heard of it.
    https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/article...it-freeze-faqs

    Here's the lowdown on it. Basically you have to lock each of the three credit bureaus separately. They can charge for this, although some states regulate the amount. They give you a PIN which you have to use to "unlock" it, which they also charge for each time you unlock it. Anytime you want to open up new credit anywhere you have to ask which credit bureau they will be getting a report from and then unlock that bureau for a few days until the report is run, and then relock it. It's a hassle, which is why I've never done it, but it will prevent anyone from successfully using your identity. Brian Krebs, one of the main journalist/bloggers on cyber security locked his a few years ago and shortly after that he was targeted by cyber criminals trying to open up fake credit accounts for him. He ended up getting a couple dozen declinations from banks as a result. It would have been a huge mess to clean up if he hadn't done the credit lock up before the criminals got started.

    Not sure how it works for Canadians, but I assume there's some sort of similar process. I'd look on your version of the FTC's web site for details.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yppej View Post
    I just read an article about this and thought it was a good idea. I locked my credit report with Experian for $5, no issues. Then I went to Equifax. They put the lock in place with no fee (leading me to believe it's free as a remedy because my data was compromised), but then they didn't show me my PIN. Instead I got a message "couldn't open PDF".
    I would half expect them to mail you the pin, to your permanent mailing address, along with the other legal notice stuff. (legal stuff goes through the mail, traditionally)

    This whole mess, makes me hear a late neighbor and her daughter about how the SS# was only supposed to be used for social security, and not for ID.
    It also makes me appreciate being more of a cash person, then a credit person.

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