In response to the data breach Equifax, one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies, recently announced, REDW Stanley is sharing some helpful tips. Although your data might not be at risk, below are some actions you can take to be proactive regarding your financial data:
- Equifax has set up a quick and easy way to find out if you’re one of the estimated 143 million consumers whose personal information is vulnerable to the breach. Click on the following link https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/.
- Even though the odds are slim that there will be any malicious activity related to the recent Equifax breach, it still makes sense to start and pull a credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. They each offer one free credit report per person, per year. Contact these services at:
- Equifax: 888-766-0008
- Experian: 888-397-3742
- TransUnion: 800-680-7289
- To help cushion the blow of the massive security breach, Equifax is offering consumers a year of free credit monitoring through its TrustedID You must click on the link above and go through that process in order to sign up for the TrustedID service. Signing up for TrustedID does not limit a consumer’s litigation options related to the breach.
- Requesting fraud alerts from all three credit-reporting agencies will make it more difficult for anyone to create credit under your name with stolen information. Contact each of the credit services to request these alerts.
- Described by the Identity Theft Resource Center as the most robust protection that consumers can access, a security freeze prevents any new lines of credit from being issued as long as the lender checks with one of the credit-reporting agencies. Security freezes should be installed at all three agencies and could include an initial fee of up to $35. You must contact each credit service to establish credit freezes.
- Consider changing your passwords and do not use easy passwords such as “123456” or “qwerty” or “111111” or any of the other most common passwords in the world. Strong or complex passwords are preferred to easier passwords and include letters, numbers and symbols. In addition to changing passwords often, include double authentication whenever possible.
- It is a good practice to closely check all financial and banking statements for any unusual activity. Hackers will sometimes start with a small transaction on a hacked account to see if it is active before committing more extensive fraud.
If we can be of assistance, or for additional information on the issue, please contact Laura Hall at REDW Stanley Financial Advisors.
Copyright 2017 REDW Stanley Financial Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This publication is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, financial, tax, or legal advice.Â
