DO YOU NEED A CREDIT FREEZE?

Last week one of the three largest credit bureaus in the U.S. announced it was hacked and personal information of 143 million Americans was stolen.

EQUIFAX HACKED

The Associated Press reports that Equifax has been the focus of anger and distrust, not only for the breach but over how it initially was handled. The huge hack occurred over the period of May through July, but the company didn’t publicly announce it until more than a month later.

ARE YOU AFFECTED?

Considering the size and scope of the breach, it’s probably better just to assume you were part of it. People trying to find out if they were affected have gotten some confusing or contradictory information even from Department of Justice officials. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued a consumer alert for the data breach and urged people to check if they have been impacted by going to an Equifax website. However, the Oregon Attorney General’s Office is telling consumers not to visit Equifax, and for people to check their credit through other agencies such as annualcreditreport.com.

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Closely monitor your own credit reports, which are available free once a year, and stagger them to see one every four months.

Stay vigilant, 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.

Consider freezing your credit reports. This is considered the most effective way to prevent theives 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.

Note: In some states there is a charge for freezing or unfreezing your credit. Fees are generally $5 or $10 per credit bureau.

Fraud alert: If you detect fraud on any account you can contact one of the major credit reporting agencies and alerts will be automatically added by the other two agencies. A fraud alert lasts 90 days and can be renewed.

File taxes early: As hard as it is to think of tax season in September, you should file taxes as soon as you have the information you need before a scammer files for you.

Learn more: Visit the Federal Trade Commission website identitytheft.gov.

THE THREE MAIN CREDIT BUREAUS

There are many credit checking companies in the U.S. but the three main bureaus are all publicly traded, for-profit companies which are not owned by the government. You can contact them to freeze your credit.

Equifax - alerts.equifax.com P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 800-685-1111

Experian - experian.com/fraud/center.html P.O. Box 2104

Allen, TX 75013-0949 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)

TransUnion - transunion.com/fraud P.O. Box 1000

Chester, PA 19022 800-916-8800

CAN YOU SUE?

Yes. You can sue as part of a class action or on your own. There are at least two class action suits filed now, one in Oregon and another in Georgia. A class action lawyer in Oregon is using the web address www.equifaxcase.com to link to his website. CNET magazine reported that despite the massive payout sought, an estimated $70 billion, if the suit is successful each victim would receive $489 for the theft of their Social Security number, name, address and birthday.

Equifax released a statement Friday evening declaring that the arbitration requirement and class action waiver will not apply to this particular breach. In its statement Monday, it said it had again adjusted the language in the FAQs on its website.

WHO'S INVESTIGATING THIS?

A host of state and federal authorities as well as politicians have stepped in to investigate. Credit bureaus like Equifax are lightly regulated compared to other parts of the financial system. Expect more scrutiny from regulators over the credit bureaus.

The chairmen of at least two U.S. House committees say they want to hold hearings.

Lastly, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the nation’s watchdog entity for financial issues, says it has the authority to investigate the data breach, and fine and sanction Equifax if warranted.

Company executives are also under scrutiny, after it was found that three Equifax executives sold shares worth a combined $1.8 million just a few days after the company discovered the breach, according to documents filed with securities regulators. Equifax said the three executives “had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold their shares.”