Q&A on the News

Q: With the recent hacking of Equifax, it’s been recommended that consumers may want to freeze their credit at all three major credit agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). I recently read there is a fourth credit agency. What is the fourth agency at which your credit should be frozen? —Ken Riley, College Park

A: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three “major” nationwide bureaus, according to USA.gov, the United States government website.

However, there are a number of other organizations that verify credit scores for purposes such as employment screening and tenant screening, according to a list published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2016.

When discussing these secondary organizations, some financial experts refer to Innovis, which often used by creditors for marketing purposes, as the fourth credit agency. Innovis “collects and provides reports to assist with fraud detection and prevention,” according to the bureau.

In the wake of the Equifax data breach, some financial experts have recommended that those with potentially compromised information also freeze their credit at Innovis, if only as an extra precaution.

To freeze your Innovis credit score, you can call 1-800-540-2505 or submit an online form at innovis.com/securityFreeze/index.

Fast Copy News Service wrote this column; Dillon Thompson contributed. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).

HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM Equifax has its corporate headquarters on Peachtree Street NE in Atlanta. Equifax is one of three major credit reporting agencies in the United States, but there are other, smaller agencies, iike Innovis.