Data breach at Equifax

[Brando]

Came across this. Can't help but think it applies now...

[Khal]

The damage they've done to all Americans is like something our enemies can only dream of.

I'm sure nobody will go to jail over this and we'll get security monitoring from a place that ****ed up security monitoring. The CEO will walk away with his golden parachute after he gave a big ,,/,, to America.

Why do we even allow these 3 damn companies to have us all by the balls? There is no punishment if they **** it all up.

The credit score for this company should be in a super max prison. I'm sure the hackers also targeted the other 2 credit companies and got straight in and stole everything they had too. They likely got in using lost CIA/FBI malware that goes right past your firewalls, routers and has zero day exploits. That's what happened with 'wannacry' and those lost malware toys will be around for years to screw us all.

Did they catch the hackers from wanna cry? Nope because the NSA collects everything and goes after only drug dealers with that information.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

These three companies enjoy special protection by our government because our political class is beholden to them. They are as connected to big money, Wall Street and the biggest of the big banks as one can be, and those interests own our entire political class.

So much for "drain the swamp". These companies ARE the swamp, and they'll be given a pass. Again. And again.

[Khal]

I was reading thru this thread which has a good break down of what this all means and what to do next for as free as possible.

https://www.reddit.com/r/YouShouldKnow/comments/6znofc/ysk_what_your_options_for_responding_to_equifax/

This company that screwed us is worth $17B they claim. Let's hope after this is all done and over with they are worth -$17. I read the execs who knew about this months ago did insider trading too!

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by legion

I don't recall ever giving them my permission to collect any information on me.

The default mode is you're automatically opted-in to everything; you have to jump through hoops to opt-out. There are cases where you can't even opt in or out as you have no contact with the entities buying and selling you.

https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21721656-data-economy-demands-new-approach-antitrust-rules-worlds-most-valuable-resource

[pwd72s]

Cindy got out our homeowner's policy. Seems we added identity theft protection. Up to a cool million bucks. Makes me feel a bit better.

[charlesbahn]

Yeah, I signed up for lifelock. I figure my likelihood of catastrophic identify theft is now much greater than my house burning down, so I might as well protect/insure against it.

Charles

[widebody911]

It looks like all 3 agencies are buggered right now under the sheer volume of people trying to freeze.

I was just on the TransUnion site, and noticed a couple of things: a) they're trying to market 5hit at just about every screen; b) they want to sell you a "lock" that isn't the same as a "freeze" - the "lock" offer is at the top of the page, the "freeze" is buried at the bottom; c) I failed the security questions, and it told me I had to call. Once I worked through all the prompts, it told me I had to send a letter with my name, address, SSN and a credit card number to ... - ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME?

My wife got through to the Trans Union customer service number to do a freeze - and has been on hold for 30 minutes.

This is just one of Three (actually Four) "experiences" we have to go through.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Same thing - I posted about it earlier but I'm only all too happy to send the request via snail mail. Doing so gives me a confirmation that they received it and can't play the "we never got it" game later. Also it's satisfying knowing that the mailed mateials have to be processed by a human being which is costing them more. Fine by me.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by legion

I don't recall ever giving them my permission to collect any information on me.

Originally Posted by ossiblue

Nor have any of us, but the more I think about it, it may have been in the small print of any and all the agreements we signed when applying for credit or securing a loan. Something to the effect of sharing with limited third parties related to the loan/financial institution. Looks innocuous enough and is identified as part of the lender's institution or business model, not just random commercial businesses.

That's my recollection, anyway, until I can find a copy of the credit agreements. Even if that is the case, the reality is, if one refuses to that part of the agreement, they cannot get the credit/loan so you have no choice.

Just like the banks they always get your permission one way o the other.

Got this message this morning, about my bank "Revised Terms and Conditions", which I normally don't bother to read;

By signing in to RBC Online Banking on or after October 12, 2017, you’re agreeing to the revised terms and conditions of the Electronic Access Agreement.

[Evans, Marv]

This breach will be costing us for years, and it's true nothing will happen to the company (except in the way of law suits which is going to mean big $ for the lawyers) or the higher ups , since Congress is in all of the corporate pockets. Maybe something will come out of it that might help in the way of agreeing to all of these companies' terms by just signing on to their websites or being denied their services. That is blackmail. Of course if some meaningful legislation is passed, the moneyed interests will instantly begin trying to render it toothless.

[wdfifteen]

Having your credit frozen in Ohio is $5 per agency and it doesn't guarantee anything, except the fine print of the sales contract that absolves them of any responsibility and prohibits you from suing them.
It's $5 to "freeze" it, then $5 to unfreeze it if I want someone to make an inquiry, then another $5 to refreeze it. Add to that their credit monitoring racket and the deal they made with congress to allow them to only show you your own information once a year (unless you pay of course). It's racket, it's crooked, and the actions of the officers of Equifax - selling off their stock before announcing the data breach - shows you the kind of people they are. Leeches, crooks, scammers.

I'm not going to pay Equifax $5 to make them stop giving out my credit history. It's a matter of principle. It's just plain blackmail to gather information on you and then make you pay them not to disseminate it. I'm not big on conspiracy theories, but don't trust that this was a real data breach. With the income from the increase in fees from freezing and unfreezing credit and increase in credit monitoring fees, this could have been a marketing ploy. I wouldn't put it past these bastages,

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by ossiblue

I have not found that to be true (bold). Every source I've checked, including Equifax itself, states that you must contact each agency separately and request a freeze. Asking for a Fraud Alert, on the other hand, only requires that you apply at one agency. The alert will then be forwarded on to the other two. I don't doubt your experience, but it's possible the company you were dealing with only used Experian as their credit verification source so you were covered.

From the Transunion website:

"You will need to place a security freeze separately with each of the three major credit reporting companies if you want the freeze on all of your credit files." https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze

Financial help website:

"*When you do a credit freeze, it is imperative that you freeze your credit with all three bureaus.*" Credit Freeze Guide: The best way to protect yourself against identity theft | Clark Howard

From the FTC website:

"How do I place a freeze on my credit reports?

Contact each of the nationwide credit reporting companies:

Equifax — 1-800-349-9960
Experian — 1‑888‑397‑3742
TransUnion — 1-888-909-8872"
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs#place



Unless you can supply a verifiable source that states asking for a freeze on your credit from one agency will automatically transfer to the other two, the claim should be held in serious doubt. Perhaps it is a regulation in your particular state. If so, it does not apply everywhere, certainly not in California.

That was told to me by Experian when I froze my credit after identity theft. I still have only frozen it with Experian and it worked so well I have never done a permenant lift on the freeze. I couldn't even sign up for Direct TV without lifting the freeze, but one call and a $15 charge lifted it for 24 hrs, same with my home loan, auto loan and applying for a credit card.

Now with the Equifax breach, I would hope the agencies would be even more vigilant. I'd rather not be on hold for an extended length of time, with all the other victims of the breach, with three agencies, paying $15 each, when purchasing a new vehicle or taking advantage of zero percent financing on a new purchase. One call to Experian does it for me.

[Geary]

While I have freezes with the big 3, I don't understand how this could possibly protect against hacking of their systems. It isn't like they don't have all your info .. they just won't pass it out freely (except during any period for which you've paid them for a temporary unfreeze).

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by Geary

While I have freezes with the big 3, I don't understand how this could possibly protect against hacking of their systems. It isn't like they don't have all your info .. they just won't pass it out freely (except during any period for which you've paid them for a temporary unfreeze).

That's not the point.. The freeze prevents people who already stole your info from opening new accounts using that info... As long as you froze it, you got the PIN, they cannot do much. It's kinda of a race, freeze it first !

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by craigster59

That was told to me by Experian when I froze my credit after identity theft. I still have only frozen it with Experian and it worked so well I have never done a permenant lift on the freeze. I couldn't even sign up for Direct TV without lifting the freeze, but one call and a $15 charge lifted it for 24 hrs, same with my home loan, auto loan and applying for a credit card.

Now with the Equifax breach, I would hope the agencies would be even more vigilant. I'd rather not be on hold for an extended length of time, with all the other victims of the breach, with three agencies, paying $15 each, when purchasing a new vehicle or taking advantage of zero percent financing on a new purchase. One call to Experian does it for me.

As I posted, I don't doubt your experience, but the information given to you by someone from Experian runs counter to what is posted on all three agency websites as well as advice from the consumer protection agencies. Perhaps because you were the victim of identity theft rather than just someone whose information was compromised, placed you into a special category that led Experian to inform the other agencies--if in fact the other two agencies did freeze your credit--you might want to check with them directly. Also, victims of ID theft--those who have suffered an incident and have a report--are typically allowed the freeze for free. Again, something you might want to check on.

In the current mess, I'd advise someone to notify all three directly, just to be sure. It could be a hassle right now, though I was able to do all three in a matter of minutes, but it needs to be done, IMO. The real fall out will not happen for several months, possibly over a year, and will continue, forever.

[Geary]

Doh .. of course .. need my cup of coffee. Race is on to contact Innovis ..

Originally Posted by Deschodt

That's not the point.. The freeze prevents people who already stole your info from opening new accounts using that info... As long as you froze it, you got the PIN, they cannot do much. It's kinda of a race, freeze it first !

[widebody911]

And the hits keep coming...

Equifax had 'admin' as login and password in Argentina - BBC News

[masraum]

Originally Posted by widebody911

And the hits keep coming...

Equifax had 'admin' as login and password in Argentina - BBC News

From that ^ article

On Tuesday, 36 US senators called for a federal investigation into how three company executives came to sell nearly $2m (£1.5m) worth of shares in the company in the interim.

[widebody911]

Just have Experian left to do; those bastards went as far as getting my credit card info before telling me they couldn't process my request and I'd have to mail it in. I tried calling and the phone tree almost immediately dumped me into a "Mail your schidt to..." recording. I did a freeze on Innovis as well, although I had never heard of them until now. https://www.innovis.com/personal/securityFreeze