Equifax data leak could involve 143 million consumers
Data leaks have become so commonplace that it’s incredibly easy to become numb to them, but credit reporting service Equifax announced a doozy today that when all is said and done could involve 143 million consumers. This is bad.
It was a treasure trove of information for the bad guys out there and included Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. As though that weren’t bad enough, 209,000 people had their credit card info leak and the breach also included dispute documents with personally identifying information from 182,000 consumers.
The information came mostly from US residents, but a percentage also involved UK and Canadian citizens and the company is working with authorities from all of these companies.
Equifax reports that it discovered the leak on July 29th and took steps to stop the intrusion. It then hired a cybersecurity firm to determine the extent of the intrusion and what damage was done. The company reports that it has involved law enforcement, but it’s not clear at this point how the intruders entered the system or exactly what they took.
The company has set up a website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, for people to check if their data was leaked and to what extent. As is often the case after leaks like this, the company is offering a free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection, which if your info was involved, you may want to take advantage of.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/07/equifax-data-leak-could-involve-143-million-consumers/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Another one. 
I went there and entered my info, and all I got was a message saying
Your enrollment date for TrustedID Premier is:
09/11/2017
Please be sure to mark your calendar as you will not receive additional reminders. On or after your enrollment date, please return to faq.trustedidpremier.com and click the link to continue through the enrollment process.
For more information visit the FAQ page.
So I still have no idea if I'm affected by this breach.
I'll check back on 9/11 (lovely date to pick) and see what I find out. Good luck to everyone else.
From the equifaxsecurity2017 main page:
The service where they monitor your credit is TrustedID Premier, which includes five complimentary offerings.
Concerned customers can call 866-447-7559, which the company set up to assist consumers. The call center is open every day (including weekends) from 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. Eastern time.
It kind of ruined my day . This is the fourth time this has happened to me. The last time was the Target fiasco.
