What you need to know to get started:
What I have recorded in this diary is not legal advice, it is information that I have both dug up for myself and experienced trying to navigate the systems, with suggestions. You may choose to do some, all, or none of these. In less than a week, I have found that some websites and processes have been changed and continue to change to some degree, but this is valid as of September 15, 2017. I know this is long, but so is the process, so bear with me.
I have spent several days reading different websites for Equifax, Federal Trade Commission, TrustedID Premier, the Washington Post, and other sources. I have also been going on the websites and making multiple phone calls to find out what to do. Overall, none of this has been easy or clear. So I hope you find this helpful.
Trying to find out if you have actually been affected is difficult — the answer Equifax sends in response to your name and last-6 digit SSN is that you “may” be a victim or you are not, which is not really terribly helpful. Also know that several high executives at Equifax sold a bunch of their stock several days after the breach occurred and long before they notified the public of the breach (which was six WEEKS)…. Also Equifax was apparently alerted to a weakness in its security, and apparently did not take action.
I have attempted to enroll in the TrustedID Premier for the 12 months of service, working directly with Equifax and TrustedID Premier. My first attempt at enrollment Monday apparently failed, and after four phone calls to Equifax and TrustedID Premier (their company for the security information service), including a call to a call center in India, all on Wednesday, I was able to glean some additional information, which I include here, but I still have to wait 48 hours to get the email with instructions on how to enroll. However, if what Equifax says is true about the TrustedID Premier services, the services may be very helpful (see below for a list of free services), but as the days go on, I am beginning to lose confidence. My concern, also expressed by the Washington Post, is that the information they require for applying for enrollment on the internet is very detailed, which may be a concern considering they apparently already have security weakness, and apparently TrustedID Premier may be directly connected to Equifax in some way.
Equifax has set up a system for getting free services for dealing with the data breach, called TrustedID Premier. However, it appears to be almost impossible to even find out if you have been affected by the breach.
Also, crooks may just wait for deadlines for freezes, fraud alerts and TrustedID Premier to expire to do their dirty work, so you have to stay on top of this, probably for years.
Assume that your data has been breached, as apparently 75% of the US records have been, according to Equifax! This could lead to identity theft, and is especially problematic for home buyers and mortgage applicants, as it can unknowingly ruin your credit score and/or create delay that could kill a home deal and/or receiving a mortgage. Theft of your social security number could cause someone to get your tax refund, make it difficult to apply for a job, affect other benefits that use the SSN for identification, and/or create havoc with credit reports.
Information Equifax reports that may have been accessed between May and July 29, 2017 in the Equifax breach:
- Name
- SSN
- Address
- Birth date
- Often, drivers license number
- In some cases, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 US consumers
- Certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 US consumers
Based on my experience and that of others I have read about, I put a 90-day freeze on my credit reports with each of the three Bureaus (which can be unfrozen for specific requesters and for limited periods of time, for a fee), a fraud alert at one Bureau (which notifies the other two), and got a copy of my credit report, as a baseline and to determine any irregularities, immediately.
I decided to try the hassle of getting the TrustedID Premier services (closing date for TrustedID Premier is 11/21/17, so you have time to decide). Especially, check your credit reports over time and carefully review each credit card, insurance and other bill transactions for questionable or unrecognized charges and transactions. This is especially important if you use automatic pay.
Many sources recommend doing what you can by phone rather than on the internet, just to limit digital exposure, and it might be more efficient to make calls at “off” hours, although, for Equifax, this may be difficult also. As the New York Times said on 9/14: “It’s like trying to get Bruce Springsteen tickets, except nobody wants to see this particular show.”
Placing a Credit Freeze on your Credit Reports:
Consider putting a 90 day credit freeze on each Bureau (in Iowa and Illinois, it is $10 plus tax paid to each Bureau for a total of $30; other states may be different. You will need to renew the freeze every 90 days, unless you can prove that you have been the victim of identity theft.
Equifax reported on September 14 that they are providing freezes for their accounts for 30 days for free, apparently reluctantly; others have recently reported in comment threads not having to pay for any of the Bureaus, although I had to pay for Experian and TransUnion; maybe I will get a refund? /s) and fraud alerts (free, see below) on your credit records using the following numbers:
- Equifax 1-800-349-9960 – automated call says that to put a freeze on the Equifax process, mail a letter with your complete name, complete address, SSN, and date of birth and, apparently, the $10.00, although it doesn’t say that, to: Equifax Security Freeze, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348 or use this site: https://www.freeze.equifax.com. I was able to successfully put the freeze on by phone last night, after several days of trying, with no charge.
- Experian 1-888-397-3742: Automated call worked! SSN, DOB, numeric address, and credit card, with a credit card. You can also mail the freeze request to Experian, PO Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
- TransUnion 1-888-909-8872 or www.transunion.com/securityfreeze. SSN, DOB, numeric address, and credit card. Automated call failed, but it sent me to a real person who quickly put the freeze and fraud alert on the account!
If you are sure you are already a victim, or if you have certain disabilities, it is possible that the freeze fee may be waived depending on your state.
You will need to provide each bureau with your name, address, date of birth, social security number, and other personal information for a freeze. When I called Equifax about placing a freeze, they said that I had I had to mail it to the address above (same as when I called the freeze number directly), but I have read that others have done it by phone. The automated option is not even working, but last night I was able to place the freeze.
For detailed FAQs on freezing: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs
A credit freeze lets you restrict access to your credit report to make it difficult for thieves to open an account in your name. It does not affect your credit score.
Each credit reporting bureau will send you a confirmation letter with a unique PIN or password (Equifax sends their on the internet, if you request by internet, which has been problematic so far, or by mail if you freeze by phone or mail), which you can use to lift the freeze temporarily if you want a loan, job, or other transaction where access to your credit report is needed, or permanently, which will take no longer than 3 days, and it may cost some money, depending on the state (in NY, the first one is free).
If you need to lift a freeze for something specific, ask which bureau they intend to use and only lift the freeze on that Bureau, and only for a limited time. The company you call for a fraud alert must tell the other credit reporting companies and they will place an alert on their versions of your report.
You have to renew the freeze every 90 days (and by then one or more of the charges will probably be back in place), so keep the date of the original freeze. I didn’t say any of this was easy.
Placing a Fraud Alert:
A fraud alert allows creditors to get a copy of your credit report if they verify your identity (such as calling to make sure that you are the person making the credit request. A fraud alert may effectively stop someone from opening new credit accounts in your name, but not from misusing existing accounts. An initial fraud alert” “(which is renewable) protects you for 90 days and is used if you are concerned about identity theft but haven’t yet become a victim. An “extended fraud alert” protects your credit for seven years, and is used if you know you have become a victim of identity theft.
For placing fraud alerts (one Bureau forwards the information to the other two Bureaus, so you only need to do this once), obtaining credit reports, freezes (except for Equifax, which has a separate number, which isn’t working at this point):
1-800-680-7289 mail request to: TransUnion PO Box 1000 Chester PA 19016 with: first name, middle initial, last name, current mailing address and addresses for last two years, copy of one with current address: drivers license, utility bill, bank or credit union statement, paycheck stub, W-2, DOB, current employer, telephone number; SSN: copy of one of current drivers license, W-2, paycheck stub, bank or credit union statement, or other ID with SSN on it; sign the request
1-888-397-3742 same as above for freezes. Nothing about fraud alerts, just security freezes
1-800-525-6285 www.alerts.equifax.com automated call. mail: Equifax Office of Fraud Assistance, PO Box 105069, Atlanta GA 30348. name, former names, suffixes, current and former addresses for last 5 years, DOB, send copy of official doc with SSN, doc verifying current address (bill, drivers license, etc – enlarge so readable). If you use the online process and do not receive a notification of the alertIf you do not receive an email notification you may contact: Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5069.
Obtaining a Credit Report:
Immediately obtain a free credit report from one of the three credit bureaus listed above and review it carefully to see if you have already fallen victim to abuse or ID theft. You are allowed one free one per year from each of the three Bureaus through www.annualcreditreport.com. When I requested all three, it got stuck on Equifax, then on Experian. I was able to get one from TransUnion quickly. Copy it and save it to your computer and review it carefully. It is good information to have anyway. You can also obtain a free report from TransUnion at www.transunion.com/annual-credit-report and Experian at www.experian.com/consumer-products. Creditkarma.com may be another source for a free report. It actually provides more detailed information than a standard report, in my opinion. Regardless of who you use, you will be asked detailed multiple choice questions about specific credit information, such as: have you had a car loan in 2012 from any of the following sources? And it will list three or four options and “none of the above”, to make sure you are the correct person.
Follow up by Obtaining with Another Credit Report:
In 2 months, get a credit report from another bureau, and another one in January 2018 from the third bureau
Place Alerts on Your Credit Card Accounts:
Place alerts on your credit card accounts to receive routine email updates about credit card balances and transactions, and read the updates. Or more practically, don’t pay your bills automatically, but read each one carefully before you pay. If something doesn’t seem right or you don’t recognize a charge, contact your credit card company using your online account or calling the credit card company using the number on the card or your bill. I often call the phone number associated with a particular charge that I don’t recognize that is on the bill for that charge, before I call the company, unless I don’t get satisfaction directly from the vendor. The names associated with some vendors on my credit card bills are not obvious, sometimes, and a quick call to the vendor can clear it up.
Some credit cards will automatically call you if they see questionable charges. In the past, my card called when three small charges for memberships to dating sites (Ha!) hit quickly, then a large charge for an airline ticket hit my card, all by 4AM on the same day. Several small charges as a test often precede a large charge when someone attempts to fraudulently use a credit card.
To Attempt to Sign up for TRustedID Premier:
Go to Equifax dedicated website www.equifaxsecurity2017.com phone: 866-447-7559 (7AM-1AM ET).
Enrollment must be completed by November 21, 2017.
The phone number for Equifax (a call center in India) is 866-640-2273 – after providing some helpful information, they told me to call TrustedID Premier at 877-742-1415. The phone number on the Equifax website was not helpful at all (866-447-7559 – they sent me to the call center in India).
This site provides information to determine if your information has been potentially impacted, and for enrolling in TrustedID Premier, free for one year, for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection called TrustedID Premier, which includes three-Bureau credit monitoring of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports; copies of Equifax credit reports; ability to lock and unlock Equifax credit reports; identity theft insurance; and internet scanning for social security numbers. For FAQs on TrustedID Premier: faq.trustedidpremier.com
Equifax says they will also send direct mail notices to consumers whose credit card cumbers or dispute documents with personal identifying info were impacted.
When you enroll in TrustedIDPremier.com on www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, with the actual application site being www.trustedifdpremier.com/enroll, it will ask for detailed personal information to enroll for the program (which made me a bit uncomfortable, but I did it anyway). I was told on the phone that you wait for 48 hours for an email that provides further instructions for actually enrolling. If you don’t get the email, check your spam folder or call 877-742-1415 for TrustedID Premier for help. Apparently this email will help you set up a login with a password (the log-in page URL is https://www.trustedid.com). If you forget your password, you can go to https://www.trustedid.com/forgotpassword.php. I have not yet heard from TrustedID Premier about my application.
If someone does not have access to the internet, I was told the number to call for help with enrolling is 866-243-8181.
Always accept any offer from Equifax to provide a year or two of credit monitoring. Always check your credit card, bank, and insurance statements for fraudulent transactions – even if you pay automatically.
Originally, Equifax had an arbitration clause (prohibiting class action suits) which they have subsequently retracted for issues related to the breach when it became news, but it appears that TrustedID Premier may still have one, I do not know.
Another Idea:
In the September 12 issue under “Innovations”, the Washington Post published an article by Peter Holley about a free, online chatbot created by Joshua Browder that can help you file a legal actions against Equifax in small claims court at the state level.
Saturday, Sep 16, 2017 · 4:50:17 AM +00:00
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jleeeps
One of the commenters identified Innovis as a fourth credit company, which I had not heard of before this and had not been identified on any of the source sites. Innovis’ website, which is easy to use is: https://www.innovis.com. From their home page, you can obtain credit reports (which you apply for by phone or by filling out the form, and they mail it to you). You can request the security freeze and fraud alert from their home page, by phone, by filling out the form on the website, or by mail. I called their all-purpose number — 1-800-540-2505 — and the automatic system easily placed the freeze (I am assuming that the fraud alert that I had already placed with another company will also report to Innovis, hopefully). The system gave me a confirmation number and will mail the PIN.
As for hearing from TrustedID Premier after 48 hours, nada. I will have to call.
I hope this has been helpful!
Sunday, Sep 17, 2017 · 7:32:40 AM +00:00
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jleeeps
Received my first email phish today, a plain jane email “from” a credit card company from which I have not had a credit card for nearly 40 years, asking me to validate my information, as they “found” questionable activity. Be aware!