![]() ![]() If you've already been the victim of identity theft, a less restrictive option is a fraud alert, which is a notice placed on your credit report that lets prospective lenders know that you are a victim of identity theft and that they should take reasonable extra steps to verify your identity before granting credit to the person claiming to be you. To give them access when you want to apply for a loan or open a cellular service account, you have to temporarily lift the freeze and set a date for it to be reinstated automatically. ![]() The freeze also shuts out most companies you may want to do business with, including lenders, telecom companies, and insurers. That usually stops identity thieves from setting up fraudulent accounts in your name. If a prospective lender can't pull your credit report, it won't issue a new loan. That makes a freeze the single most effective way to protect against fraud. In the meantime, there are several ways you can protect yourself.Ī security freeze placed on your credit file will block most lenders from seeing your credit history. The growing size and scope of the breach underscores the need for Congress to step up and do more to hold companies accountable for keeping our personal data safe." "The company is still adding millions of new names to the list of people who were impacted. "It's been five months since Equifax announced the breach," says Justin Brookman, director of consumer privacy and technology policy for Consumers Union, the advocacy division of Consumer Reports. consumers directly, and will offer identity-theft protection and credit file monitoring services at no cost to them.Ĭonsumer advocates used the latest disclosure to renew calls for congressional action. "It's about sifting through the previously identified stolen data, analyzing other information in our databases that was not taken by the attackers, and making connections that enabled us to identify additional individuals."Įquifax says it will notify these newly identified U.S. "This is not about newly discovered stolen data," says Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., interim CEO. ![]() With this latest disclosure, the total number of consumers affected is now about 148 million. ![]()
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