Equifax had earlier security breach

Approximately 100,000 Canadian consumers potentially affected

Equifax, under pressure from a massive data breach, says it had a separate incident earlier this year. That may mean even more scrutiny as the company deals with the aftermath of a security failure that exposed the information of 143 million Americans.

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Attorney General has filed suit against Equifaxe. And Equifax says about 100,000 Canadian consumers may have had their personal information compromised.

AN EARLIER BREACH Equifax says it had a security breach earlier this year that involved a different part of the company than the one accessed in the larger hack.

The breach involved TALX, which is Equifax’s human resources and payroll service.

CANADIAN TALLY Equifax said Tuesday that approximately 100,000 Canadian consumers may have had personal information breached, including names, addresses, social insurance numbers and in some cases credit card numbers. Equifax Canada’s president and general manager Lisa Nelson apologized to consumers whose data may have been compromised. The company says the investigation is still going on.

Canada’s privacy watchdog has said it is looking into the breach and Equifax has committed to notifying those affected in writing as soon as possible.

WHAT SHOULD I DO? Consumers should be vigilant and diligent. That means:

— Closely monitoring their credit reports, which are available free once a year, and stagger them to see one every four months.

— Keeping watch, possibly for a long time. Scammers who get ahold of the data could use it at any time — and with 143 million to choose from, they may be patient.

— Considering freezing your credit reports. That stops thieves from opening new credit cards or loans in your name, but it also prevents you from opening new accounts. So if you want to apply for something, you need to lift the freeze a few days beforehand.