143 Million. We wouldn’t call it a magic number but it is, in fact, the number of Americans effected by the Equifax hack. From an appalling response and other questionable moves with the company executives, it is no wonder why it is on the minds of most of us. Here we will give you a footnotes version of what happened and how you can protect yourself from the Equifax hack.

About the Hack:

• Hack may have been known about as early as March of 2017.
• Company is loosely regulated so Congress will likely need to step in.
• The FTC is probing the matter as well as several state attorneys.
• Effects approximately 143 people.

How to Protect Yourself:

Stay Up-to-Date on information

Due to the large scope of the hack, regulators and Equifax are looking under every stone and daily updates are available on the Equifax (https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/) site.

You may elect to do a credit freeze but it should be noted that the damage is already done (likely). Your SSN isn’t going to change so you must remain diligent for years to come!

Enroll in Equifax’s Credit Monitoring and Freeze

Equifax may have started the mess and they are trying to clean it up. It is more than understandable to be hesitant doing business with them after this monumental screw up but there are few reasons that may sway your mind. For starters it is free and a as good a product as any on the market for monitoring your credit. It is by no means a fix but it may help deter cyber thieves.

Stay diligent!

A potential identity attack may not take place until a year or more down the line. Banks are trying to catch fraudulent charges but it is up to us to be the best police. Review your credit card statements, understand every charge and if you see something fishy; say something!

Annual Free Credit File

You are entitled to one free copy annually. They are available here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action