Equifax got hacked - 143 million people affected

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger

Just checked my Password Vault (offline local file, backed up to two diff medias) and the PIN to my Equifax Freeze is ten digits. I can't see them cracking a 10 digit PIN, or spending the effort to do so when they have 100 million+ unlocked and ready to go credit files. I would log onto Equifax and change it or request a new one but I don't trust in their security situation at the moment. Suppose I'll instead rely on the hackers paying more attention first and probably for a while, to credit files that aren't locked.

The problem I see with a credit freeze is hackers can still get your pin to unfreeze your credit and change your information! I basically just did that on the Equifax website; as long as you provide your personal information/SSN, you can get the pin. It's really stupid. You should be able to provide your own security questions and your own pin to even get access to your account. That is how I set up my Capital One Credit Card after I got hacked and someone tried changing my address/phone numbers etc. on my account. Now in order to do that stuff, you have to know my personal pin and it can't be given out just with personal info. You have to know the pin to get to the personal info.

Yeah it is pretty stupid. I had more security questions for logging into my college class online material than I do bank account info.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071

... These credit bureaus are run by idiots, and much of your purchasing power depends on it these days unless you pay everything in cash....

Pretty much....

 

[SubLGT]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger

Just checked my Password Vault (offline local file, backed up to two diff medias) and the PIN to my Equifax Freeze is ten digits...

The Equifax PIN is not a random number. It is a simple time stamp. https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2017/09/10/equifax-woeful-pins-put-frozen-credit-files-at-risk/

 

[CKN]

I just froze my wife's and I credit. For those of you who have done this-have you had any issues getting competitive auto/home owners insurance with frozen credit? I know that is one of the things Insurance Companies look at to determine rates.

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger

Originally Posted By: opus1

Funny thing, I had two cards hacked in July and I thought it was due to online purchases I made at the same web site. Started the whole identity theft thing and my info is frozen/locked on all three reporting agencies. Yet, I recently received a letter from a credit card issuer asking me to call to verify info on an account I recently tried to open -- which I didn't open. So much for locking one's info at the agencies...

Lock down your Innovis report too. 4th agency.

Thank you. A second attempt to open a card in my name came through so I'm doing this now.

 

[SubLGT]

how secure is the equifaxsecurity2017 website?

Quote:

What's more, the website www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/, which Equifax created to notify people of the breach, is highly problematic for a variety of reasons. It runs on a stock installation WordPress, a content management system that doesn't provide the enterprise-grade security required for a site that asks people to provide their last name and all but three digits of their Social Security number. The TLS certificate doesn't perform proper revocation checks…...Another indications of sloppiness: a username for administering the site has been left in a page that was hosted here.

https://arstechnica.com/information-tech...onal-info-ever/

 

[Nickdfresh]

Sheer. Criminal. Malfeasance...

 

[ZeeOSix]

Looks like the laws differ from state to state with regards to freezing your credit. Seems to be fees involved every time you toggle it on or off with each credit reporting agency. With all the info hacking and ID fraud happening these days, the laws need to be changed so people have full control of their personal info and be able to freeze/unfreeze their accounts without having to pay for it.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Read some of the comments on the FTCs website, at bottom of the page. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do

 

[Nickdfresh]

Sue Eqifax with a few clicks!

 

[oilpsi2high]

Place fraud alert on your SSN. Review credit report for fraudulent accounts (which you should be doing yearly anyway.) Move on with life. Am I thrilled that Equifax is storing my information without my consent? No. Is there much I can do about it? Nope. Such is life.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high

Place fraud alert on your SSN. Review credit report for fraudulent accounts (which you should be doing yearly anyway.) Move on with life. Am I thrilled that Equifax is storing my information without my consent? No. Is there much I can do about it? Nope. Such is life.

So you don't advocate freezing credit? There is an article on Bloomberg about how thieves use bits and pieces of different identities to create new ones. Also-checking your credit report ( how ever often) and finding something is after the fact. This is really a no-win situation for consumers-but freezing your credit is the best move you can make, with results that are for now unknown. To review-your information is now out there (with thieves) forever. I expect laws will be changed on a federal basis to allow consumers to have more control over their credit information and to eliminate fees (Utah has them-I spent $40.00 yesterday locking down my credit) for freezing and unlocking your credit.

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: SubLGT

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger

Just checked my Password Vault (offline local file, backed up to two diff medias) and the PIN to my Equifax Freeze is ten digits...

The Equifax PIN is not a random number. It is a simple time stamp. https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2017/09/10/equifax-woeful-pins-put-frozen-credit-files-at-risk/

Good Lord. What a bunch of [censored] baffoons they are. I want to be in the small group of class leaders in the class action against them. The initial class participants often get more $$$ than the rank and file class sign-ons.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Originally Posted By: CKN

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high

Place fraud alert on your SSN. Review credit report for fraudulent accounts (which you should be doing yearly anyway.) Move on with life. Am I thrilled that Equifax is storing my information without my consent? No. Is there much I can do about it? Nope. Such is life.

So you don't advocate freezing credit? There is an article on Bloomberg about how thieves use bits and pieces of different identities to create new ones. Also-checking your credit report ( how ever often) and finding something is after the fact. This is really a no-win situation for consumers-but freezing your credit is the best move you can make, with results that are for now unknown. To review-your information is now out there (with thieves) forever. I expect laws will be changed on a federal basis to allow consumers to have more control over their credit information and to eliminate fees (Utah has them-I spent $40.00 yesterday locking down my credit) for freezing and unlocking your credit.

You can, if you want to pay for it at each credit bureau. A fraud alert will be plenty if your credit report is clean right now, and you only have to enable it at one agency. The last thing I am going to do is have Equifax do anything further on my behalf. Also, a security freeze doesn’t protect you if the hack exposes the PINs, which is what happened with Equifax.