Credit reporting bureau Equifax announced Thursday that approximately 143 million American consumers may be impacted by a cybersecurity breach.
Here’s what information got exposed: names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses and some driver’s license numbers.
Another unlucky 209,000 or so people had their credit card numbers exposed. And 182,000 unlucky people had their dispute documents exposed.
U.K. and Canadian consumers may be affected as well, although Equifax doesn’t yet have details.
“Criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files,” the company said in a statement.
Equifax has determined that breaches occurred between May and July 2017, although it says it “has found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax’s core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases.”
Equifax learned of the breach on July 29.
What Equifax Is Doing to Save Face
Equifax plans to send notifications by mail to consumers whose credit card numbers or dispute documents were exposed.
Its dedicated website for this security breach invites you to input your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number to learn if you were affected.
The bureau is offering its TrustedID Premier credit and identity theft monitoring to those whose information was compromised, complimentary for one year.
Here’s the Bigger Problem(s), Though
Consumers should be aware of a few extra issues related to this security breach.
1. Entering your name and Social Security number may not give you answers yet. Some Penny Hoarder staffers tried inputting their information only to be told to come back to the Equifax website on Sept. 11.
2. You may want to wait to see if you get a notice from Equifax in the mail, rather than check that website.
The website asks for your last name and the last six digits of your social. It then asks you to click a captcha box before submitting your info. But tucked at the very bottom of the site — nowhere near that info box — is a “terms of use” link.
Dig into those terms, and you’ll learn that enrolling in the complimentary credit-monitoring service waives your right to be a part of a class-action suit against Equifax.
“When I tried it out, it said I wasn’t impacted and then automatically enrolled me in a free credit monitoring service,” staff writer Lisa McGreevy said. “I later discovered the terms of service at this link says if you agree to accept credit monitoring, you waive the right to sue Equifax.”
A proposed class-action suit seeking a potential $70 billion nationally for damages was filed in Oregon on Thursday evening, Bloomberg reports.
3. Did we mention the shady executives?
CNBC reports that three Equifax executives sold some of their stock shares in early August, although Equifax told CNBC in a statement that those executives didn’t have any knowledge of the breach.
What to Do if You Don’t Trust Equifax Right Now
Want to figure out if your credit or identity is at risk, without turning to Equifax?
AnnualCreditReport.com allows you to access a credit report from each of the three bureaus once a year. If you haven’t used up your three for this 12-month period, it may be a good time to check.
You can sign up for a free identity protection service like True Identity, which will alert you if anyone applies for credit using your name.
Then, keep a close eye on your bank and credit account statements, email and mailbox. Staying vigilant can help you catch potential issues sooner rather than later.
Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, one of the largest personal finance websites. We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. In 2016, Inc. 500 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the No. 1 fastest-growing private media company in the U.S.
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