The company has its own advice, and security experts are offering much more. Take a look.
What the company says to do
Equifax says it will mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or records of credit disputes were accessed.
It has also set up a website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, that it said would help U. S. consumers find out if their information was exposed, and allow them to sign up for a year of free credit-file monitoring and identify-theft protection. There have been online complaints, however, that the service does not tell consumers right away about the status of their information.
Other ways to protect yourself
Place a credit freeze on your file with all three major U. S. credit-reporting companies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — and with the business-focused bureau Innovis. This will help prevent criminals from taking out credit cards, mortgages, lines of credit or other debt in your name.
Check all your online accounts for improper or unusual activity. This includes regularly monitoring your bank account and any other financial accounts, as well as email and social media accounts.
If you receive a notification of security issues via text, email or any other media, do not click on it, but instead access your account directly to check for notification from the company, and if none is present, contact the company. Hackers may use the Equifax breach to launch “spearphishing” attacks that can expose you to identity theft and other cybercrime when you click on a link.
General precautions
The massive and highly intrusive breach should be a wake-up call for Americans to check online bank and credit card statements regularly, ideally every week, said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst for CreditCards.com.
“We think nothing of checking Facebook or Instagram 10 times a day, but many think it is too much to ask to check your bank statements once a week, ” Schulz said. “It’s not. It’s easy to do, doesn’ t take long and can help you spot problems before they get out of control.”
The effects of the Equifax hack could take time to appear, Schulz warned.
“Just because nothing looks amiss on your bank statements or your credit report now, that doesn’ t mean you haven’ t been compromised, ” Schulz said.
“Bad guys can be very patient, so it’s important to keep an eye out long after this story fades from the headlines.”
– Sources: Jonathan Penn of Avast and John Krebs of KrebsOnSecurity.com
