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[beelzebozo]

For anybody with AAA, they have ProtectMyID® Essential for free.

thanks man. signed up for this.

 

[O_Atoll]

So if you don't complete the registration on the given date then you're not officially enrolled in their program? Does that mean you didn't give up your rights to sue?

This

 

[rambis]

So if you don't complete the registration on the given date then you're not officially enrolled in their program? Does that mean you didn't give up your rights to sue?

No, that arbritration clause doesnt affect this incident. You can enroll.

 

[Soi-Fong]

Complete horse shit... I'm trying to put a fraud alert through Transunion as I'm not sure about the freeze yet, but it keeps on giving me technical errors.

Complete horse shit... How the fuck are any of these companies allowed to do these things when they literally deal with people's personal identities...

Edit: Went to annual credit report and chose experian to get one and I get another error saying Experian is not available.. I'm pretty sure I just wasted one of the three.. Jesus..

 

[slit]

So if you don't complete the registration on the given date then you're not officially enrolled in their program? Does that mean you didn't give up your rights to sue?

I don't see how you could have since there is no way for them to verify it was you who entered the information to begin with. People are checking friends and family members information for them so they have not agreed to anything. If they sign up, that is a different story.

 

[dallow_bg]

Complete horse shit... I'm trying to put a fraud alert through Transunion as I'm not sure about the freeze yet, but it keeps on giving me technical errors.

Complete horse shit... How the fuck are any of these companies allowed to do these things when they literally deal with people's personal identities...

Edit: Went to annual credit report and chose experian to get one and I get another error saying Experian is not available.. I'm pretty sure I just wasted one of the three.. Jesus..

Experian never works for me online. I always have to mail them the request.

 

[slit]

No, that arbritration clause doesnt affect this incident. You can enroll.

Eh, that is what their press agency says. A year from now lawyers for Equifax may try and argue something different tho.

 

[GK86]

Put together some info.

How do I check if I am part of the data breach?

Keep two things in mind:
1- The site isn't exactly reliable in terms of telling you whether you have been affected or not.
2- If you ENROLL, it might prevent you from suing the company.

https://trustedidpremier.com/eligibility/eligibility.html

Your best bet is to assume you were affected by the hack.
​

Are Canadian/UKers affected?

Yes, but it is "limited personal information" according to Equifax.​

Setting up a fraud alert:

An initial fraud alert can make it harder for an identity thief to open more accounts in your name. When you have an alert on your report, a business must verify your identity before it issues credit, so it may try to contact you. The initial alert stays on your report for at least 90 days. You can renew it after 90 days. It allows you to order one free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit reporting companies. Be sure the credit reporting companies have your current contact information so they can get in touch with you.

Links to do so:
TransUnion
Experian
EquiFax​

Setting up a credit freeze:

When you set up a freeze, you will need to set up a PIN. You need the PIN in order to unfreeze the account. Don't lose the PIN!

Also known as a security freeze, this tool lets you restrict access to your credit report, which in turn makes it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. That's because most creditors need to see your credit report before they approve a new account. If they can't see your file, they may not extend the credit.

No. A credit freeze does not affect your credit score.

A credit freeze also does not:

• prevent you from getting your free annual credit report
• keep you from opening a new account, applying for a job, renting an apartment, or buying insurance. But if you're doing any of these, you'll need to lift the freeze temporarily, either for a specific time or for a specific party, say, a potential landlord or employer. The cost and lead times to lift a freeze vary, so it's best to check with the credit reporting company in advance.
• prevent a thief from making charges to your existing accounts. You still need to monitor all bank, credit card and insurance statements for fraudulent transactions.

A freeze remains in place until you ask the credit reporting company to temporarily lift it or remove it altogether. A credit reporting company must lift a freeze no later than three business days after getting your request. The cost to lift a freeze varies by state.

If you opt for a temporary lift because you are applying for credit or a job, and you can find out which credit reporting company the business will contact for your file, you can save some money by lifting the freeze only at that particular company.

Links:
-Cost by state.

-By phone:
Equifax — 1-800-349-9960
Experian — 1‑888‑397‑3742
TransUnion — 1-888-909-8872

-Online:
Equifax
Experian
TransUnion​

 

[gcubed]

Good time to push for voter ID laws now. Imagine what you can do with almost every US adults PII

Equifax should be out of business

 

[rambis]

Eh, that is what their press agency says. A year from now lawyers for Equifax may try and argue something different tho.

I doubt it if thats the response they sent to a State AG who was challenging it.

I doubt they care much about who gets what individually. Its the overall amount that they will fight for.

 

[snap]

Thank you

did you enroll in their program?

I got to the point where it said "come back on this day to finish enrollment"

I had done that before people discovered that arbitration clause, i regret doing that now

I used that website. So that means I'll have to send a letter?

You shouldn't, after they came out and said "jk this doesn't apply to the data breach" but i'd keep an eye out on the news just to be safe.

To be honest, I wouldn't even bother with that shady ass site, and just assume the worst and get to freezing your accounts or calling your banks. I absolutely regret even opening that shitty website at all.

yeah, this isn't a bad move to make.

this site throws an invalid ssl certificate error..

sounds about right. (not being sarcastic, just knowing everything we know about that site, /of course/ Equifax fucked that up too).

 

[WordAssassin]

Put together some info.

How do I check if I am part of the data breach?

Keep two things in mind:
1- The site isn't exactly reliable in terms of telling you whether you have been affected or not.
2- If you ENROLL, it might prevent you from suing the company.

https://trustedidpremier.com/eligibility/eligibility.html

Your best bet is to assume you were affected by the hack.
​

Is Canada/UK citizens affected?

Yes, but it is "limited personal information" according to Equifax.​

Setting up a fraud alert:

Links to do so:
TransUnion
Experian
EquiFax​

Setting up a credit freeze:

When you set up a freeze, you will need to set up a PIN. You need the PIN in order to unfreeze the account. Don't lose the PIN!



Links:
-Cost by state.

-By phone:
Equifax — 1-800-349-9960
Experian — 1‑888‑397‑3742
TransUnion — 1-888-909-8872

-Online:
Equifax
Experian
TransUnion​

Thank you for this

I will NEVER understand why the 3 Credit Bureaus, AKA the companies who hold your most personal private data, have the shittiest, fakest looking websites. Putting any information into them makes me nervous as fuck, especially Equifax now.

 

[pinsomniac]

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[direct_quote]

¯_(&#12484_/¯

So we are all basically screwed?

 

[Hubbl3]

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

To be fair, aside from giving a would be hacker pretty much half of any given person's pin, it would still take 1440 guesses per pin# day to get the time right and someone would still have to get the day and month right as well. I would hope someone wouldn't be allowed to guess the pin that many times, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was no limit at this point.

Of course if the exact date and time someone initiated their freeze was published in an easy to access place, then my point means nothing and the pin is absolute trash

 

[snap]

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

fuckin WOW

how the fuck do we expect tech companies that at worst would leak a credit card # (that we can somewhat easily replace) to have highest level security but the people who handle our SSNs and basically the most private info anyone would have are able to somehow exist using the weakest fucking shit

 

[D23]

Well GAF i dont know if this has something to do with the Equifax hacked.. but my Amazon account got hacked this morning, and someone tried to purchased a Mavic drone and Sharp OLED tv. Luckily my CC never authorized the purchased.

I've been on the phone all morning with Amazon and my banks to get this resolved.

 

[Spacebar]

Just got an email from Fandango of suspicious activity.

Edit: I tried to reset my password and they just sent me an email saying the same thing. No password reset link was sent to me. Going to online chat rep now. Number 80 in the queue.

 

[Bebpo]

My credit card info got stolen this morning, probably just coincidence but hmmm...

 

[RedAssedApe]

Well GAF i dont know if this has something to do with the Equifax hacked.. but my Amazon account got hacked this morning, and someone tried to purchased a Mavic drone and Sharp OLED tv. Luckily my CC never authorized the purchased.

I've been on the phone all morning with Amazon and my banks to get this resolved.

i would recommend turning on two factor authentication

 

[Neoweee]

Well GAF i dont know if this has something to do with the Equifax hacked.. but my Amazon account got hacked this morning, and someone tried to purchased a Mavic drone and Sharp OLED tv. Luckily my CC never authorized the purchased.

I've been on the phone all morning with Amazon and my banks to get this resolved.

Completely unrelated. They got your Amazon password somehow, but that ain't on Equifax.

 

[RoninChaos]

i would recommend turning on two factor authentication

Amazon does two factor?

 

[RedAssedApe]

Amazon does two factor?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201962420

 

[Soroc]

So I'm just realizing that if I want to freeze with Equifax, I have to fucking give Equifax 10 dollars for their fuck up and my added security for peace of mind. WTF is this racket? Why aren't they offering this for free for all people?

 

[WordAssassin]

So I'm just realizing that if I want to freeze with Equifax, I have to fucking give Equifax 10 dollars for their fuck up and my added security for peace of mind. WTF is this racket? Why aren't they offering this for free for all people?

I wonder if they have the capacity to freeze everyone's accounts automatically and send out PINs en masse? I feel like that'd just leave them open to more shit though, if they suddenly are flooding the mail with letters for people containing their personal information, wouldn't that just become a new target?

 

[mollipen]

For anybody with AAA, they have ProtectMyID® Essential for free.

USAA members get what I believe is basically the same thing through Experian's CreditCheck service. You can then upgrade to two additional tiers.

 

[RedAssedApe]

If I do a fraud alert do I really need to do a freeze? Don't they need to contact me first if someone tries to open an account in my name?

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

Fraud is not fun. I had my credit and bank accounts raided, but it was easy to fix with just a phone call.

Having a social security number stolen is no fun.

I got a multi thousand dollar lein on my bank and credit accounts due to tax fees for starting a business in 2004.

Holy shit, was it a paper trace nightmare. I was in high school and hadn't even started my first job. I wouldn't know how this worked.

 

[Zantetsuken]

I can't help but wonder why we are beholden to these credit bureaus in the first place. There has to be a better way for something as important as our finances.

 

[Zoe]

If I do a fraud alert do I really need to do a freeze? Don't they need to contact me first if someone tries to open an account in my name?

No

 

[snap]

Amazon does two factor?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201962420

it's mildly crappy though. they don't seem to support secondary passwords for applications that log into your amazon account but don't support TFA so you end up not being able to log into your perfectly fine amazon account.

though, tbf, that's a very edge case that only really applies if you spend a lot of effort working with Amazon's Cloud Storage.

 

[Soroc]

I wonder if they have the capacity to freeze everyone's accounts automatically and send out PINs en masse? I feel like that'd just leave them open to more shit though, if they suddenly are flooding the mail with letters for people containing their personal information, wouldn't that just become a new target?

Yeah I could see that. It wouldn't be too hard for them to put out a PR statement indicating to go to the site a request a freeze for free until 9/15 or something along those lines. Just feels dirty to have to pay them for this freeze when its their fault I feel the need to do it.

 

[WordAssassin]

Yeah I could see that. It wouldn't be too hard for them to put out a PR statement indicating to go to the site a request a freeze for free until 9/15 or something along those lines. Just feels dirty to have to pay them for this freeze when its their fault I feel the need to do it.

That is a way better idea and exactly what they should do.

 

[Zackat]

I froze my account with Equifax fast and easy and got one of these laughable PIN numbers. Like absolutely pathetic. The last 4 digits are the time you fucking did it.

The other 2 wouldn't let me do it, I got errors. I wonder if they are being swamped maybe? I am just trying to get this done before I lose power here in Florida.

 

[SwordStruck]

I froze my account with Equifax fast and easy and got one of these laughable PIN numbers. Like absolutely pathetic. The last 4 digits are the time you fucking did it.

The other 2 wouldn't let me do it, I got errors. I wonder if they are being swamped maybe? I am just trying to get this done before I lose power here in Florida.

I was able to freeze all 3 about a half hour ago and it worked fine. Maybe a browser thing? The sites aren't exactly state of the art unfortunately, I used Chrome.

 

[Zackat]

I was able to freeze all 3 about a half hour ago and it worked fine. Maybe a browser thing? The sites aren't exactly state of the art unfortunately, I used Chrome.

The only one I can't get to work is Experian. Cannot figure out why.

I mean I am a pro at entering my SSN at these shady ass websites now.

 

[IISANDERII]

Three Equifax Managers Sold Stock Before Cyber Hack Revealed

 

[royalroyal]

Three Equifax Managers Sold Stock Before Cyber Hack Revealed

yikes, and they weren't notified of the breach either. hmmm

 

[BobTheFork]

yikes, and they weren't notified of the breach either. hmmm

The fuck they weren't

 

[DataGhost]

Question: I never signed up for any of the three and neither does my tech-illeterate family. Is it possible that I am also affected?

 

[Stinkles]

yikes, and they weren't notified of the breach either. hmmm

Sure they weren't.

I don't know why we're not talking about the fact that we allowed a quasi monopoloy of private organizations to insert themselves into our financial system providing no benefit except the ability to charge you to gauge their own secretive criteria, and crippling an entire subclass of Americans, forcing the poorest to pay MORE for things than the rich, and not even requiring basic competence from them.

This hack isn't the first fuck up from these clowns either, it's just the most visible.

They're effectively the Ticketmaster of financial information, only their shows are all shit.

Question: I never signed up for any of the three and neither does my tech-illeterate family. Is it possible that I am also affected?

YES.

Nobody signs up for them. They track your financial identity regardless of what you do. And the government allows that. And they get to tell your bank for example, whether it should give you a home loan or not. Cool, huh?

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

So considering how poorly Equifax and likely the other two agencies have personal information secured, if one was to freeze their credit and basically the only thing to unfreeze it is the PIN, why should we trust any of these agencies not to have that PIN compromised too?

The whole SSN as a catch all identifier really needs to go away.

 

[Korey]

Am I the only person not freaking out about this?

If 40% of Americans are affected, then any mass tampering with credit will be dealt with. And there are remedies even if your credit is messed with.

Just monitor your credit regularly and chill out. Doing all this freezing stuff and pulling your hair out seems to be an overreaction, in my opinion.

 

[SwordStruck]

Am I the only person not freaking out about this?

If 40% of Americans are affected, then any mass tampering with credit will be dealt with. And there are remedies even if your credit is messed with.

Just monitor your credit regularly and chill out. Doing all this freezing stuff and pulling your hair out seems to be an overreaction, in my opinion.

What do you mean by 'will be dealt with'? By who? And how long should I expect my specific case to be 'dealt with' if I'm one of however many million that may get their credit messed with?

'Freaking out' is not what I'd call the correct approach to this, but from what I have heard getting your identity stolen is an absolute nightmare. So I definitely don't think taking precautionary measures such as spending $30 and taking 5 minutes out of my time to put in credit freezes should be considered freaking out about the situation. This is a pretty serious thing, more people should be taking these precautionary measures if they think their information/identity is involved.

 

[xenoncrash]

I froze my account with Equifax fast and easy and got one of these laughable PIN numbers. Like absolutely pathetic. The last 4 digits are the time you fucking did it.

The other 2 wouldn't let me do it, I got errors. I wonder if they are being swamped maybe? I am just trying to get this done before I lose power here in Florida.

I did the first two last night and Transunion was so swamped and slow, but this morning was a breeze. I think they are being overwhelmed.

Sucks that I have to pay Equifax $5 for freezing my account (every state has different rates) for their f*ckup. Plus $5 for the other two. smh. I hope something is done about this. They literally control the safety of our credit reports!

 

[xenoncrash]

What do you mean by 'will be dealt with'? By who? And how long should I expect my specific case to be 'dealt with' if I'm one of however many million that may get their credit messed with?

'Freaking out' is not what I'd call the correct approach to this, but from what I have heard getting your identity stolen is an absolute nightmare. So I definitely don't think taking precautionary measures such as spending $30 and taking 5 minutes out of my time to put in credit freezes should be considered freaking out about the situation. This is a pretty serious thing, more people should be taking these precautionary measures if they think their information/identity is involved.

How exactly will it be "dealt with"? I have zero trust in these agencies now. I had identity theft in 1998 and believe me it will wreck your life for several months. If you are able, freezing your reports at this time is a sensible thing to do. This is very serious.

P.S. This is in response to Korey. Sorry for the misquote.

 

[StoneFox]

Coincidentally I changed the passwords to my banks to completely unique passwords last week on a whim, I hope that I'm not affected but I probably am. (I know it won't stop people from opening a loan in my name or whatever, but hey, they won't be able to login to the sites, whoopie?) Ugh, this is a mess. I don't want to monitor everything like a hawk, I'm already tired just thinking about it. But my credit score is good and I don't want issues either ughhhh

typical, nobody invests in security.

Why is the freeze just a PIN and not also a phone two-factor authentication with an temporary confirmation number? Do these companies know nothing about protecting accounts?

edit: Just remembered that my mom's credit score is over 820 so her information would be a goldmine for ID stealing pricks. -_- All that work from her could go to waste.

 

[The Faceless Master]

i still don/t understand how we are the customers... aren't we the product?

and if the product is screwed up, shouldn't the producer have to halt and fix their problems.

like Blue Bell ice cream, they should have to shut down.

 

[rambis]

Am I the only person not freaking out about this?

If 40% of Americans are affected, then any mass tampering with credit will be dealt with. And there are remedies even if your credit is messed with.

Just monitor your credit regularly and chill out. Doing all this freezing stuff and pulling your hair out seems to be an overreaction, in my opinion.

This is highly doubtful. Also once something gets on your credit report, no matter how erroneous, it usually takes months to get removed.

Monitoring your credit is ultimately useless because things will have already hit your report by the time they warn you. Its your perogative to be ignorant of the credit systems buy this is terrible advice.

 

[direct_quote]

So is everyone freezing their credit? Is that a good idea?