On September 7, 2017, Equifax reported a security breach that included names, social security numbers (SSN), birth dates, addresses, and driver’s license numbers. Equifax is one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, with the others being Experian and TransUnion. According to their report, over 100 million customers’ personal data may have been compromised.
If you have a credit report, you need to check to find out if your information was exposed with the breach. Equifax has set-up an online form where you can enter your last name and the last 6 digits of your SSN to find out if your information was affected by this breach. Your SSN is sensitive information so you should only use this online form if you’re on a secure computer. Equifax is also providing one year of free credit monitoring, so check their site on how to enroll for those services.
Once you’ve gone through the steps above, use these resources to learn how you can stay safe online. This not only includes information regarding your personal information but also knowing how to properly use online tools.