The Equifax data breach may have compromised your credit information.
Not long ago, someone hacked into the personal information of 143 million Americans in the Equifax computer system. (S)he obtained social security numbers, birth dates, address, phone number, and information about financial accounts.
I am one of the 143 million Americans whose data was hacked at Equifax. And this morning, I got more bad news. Someone has been using my credit card and has attempted fraudulent purchases but only one went through. Someone tried to buy a used car in California for $5,500 with my credit card.
What can you do about this financial fiasco?
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Find out if your data was affected!
Check this website and find out if your information has been compromised:
https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/potential-impact/
Even if it was not, it is a good idea to sign up for the free year of identity theft protection that Equifax is providing for every American and others affected by this issue.
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Scan for your information on the internet!
Run an Id Shield scan to find out if your information is being used or sold on the internet. ID Shield is one service that scans the internet for your information and alerts you to any instances of someone else using it on the internet. For a small monthly fee, ID Shield will let you know if it finds your information where you do not want it to be.
Experian offers a similar service.
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Freeze or put a fraud alert on your information!
Freezing your credit prevents anyone from using your personal information to make any purchases or set up new accounts.
A freeze seals your credit reports and requires you to use a PIN to access them yourself. Click here to learn how to freeze your credit.
Setting up a fraud alert requires that the credit bureau call you before it releases any information to anyone about your credit. Therefore, this gives you the chance to deny the release of your credit information. You can learn more about fraud alerts here.
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Analyze each of your financial accounts.
You should analyze each of your financial accounts. Also, verify that all of the transactions are yours. If you do not recognize any transactions, work with your financial institution to fix the problem.
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Prevent others from stealing your identity! Take steps today to prevent the Equifax data breach from giving you an identity theft migraine!
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