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Unless you've been living under a particularly uniformed rock, you've heard about the massive data breach that Equifax announced on September 7, 2017. The vital information of over 143 million American consumers was exposed to hackers.

 

The information exposed was indeed vital; it included  names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, driver’s license numbers. That's vital information from roughly half of the population of the United States; considering the United States Census Bureau calculates that there are approximately 119 million households in the US, it's not a far reach to say almost every adult in the United States can potentially be impacted by this data breach.

 

Identity theft can, obviously, impact your credit and credit score. Your credit score is the number one criteria for loan pre-qualification when it comes time to buy a home. If you're not ready to buy a home, most property managers for rentals will pull your credit, as well.  In short, if your data is used, it could severely impact your housing options in the future.

 

You can check if you may be impacted by Equifax's breach by going here:

 

https://trustedidpremier.com/eligibility/eligibility.html

 

How do you stop yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft? You must be proactive!

 

First, pull your annual free credit report and look for any unexpected activity at annualcreditreport.com. Second, consider putting a credit freeze on your files, but be aware there may be a charge for this and any hackers/thieves may still have access to your existing accounts. If you choose not to use the credit freeze, you might want to place a fraud alert on your files to signal potential creditors to verify the person seeking credit is actually you. Be vigilant in monitoring your bank and credit card accounts, checking for unauthorized activity daily. Also, be aware that other scammers will try to use this to their advantage. Don't let them! Be wary of any phone calls claiming to be from a credit agency or the IRS. Put stronger spam filters on your email client as there is likely to be a surge in phishing emails; if you receive an email you think might be phishing, but you're not sure, don't click on the link in the email, type the address of the site in your tool bar.

 

As always, NEVER (NEVER, NEVER, NEVER) give your social security number over the phone.

 

Money isn't everything, but your credit is your most valuable tool in making the most of the money you have and using to provide for your loved ones. Don't let the value of your good credit and your hope of home ownership be stolen by thieves.

 

For more information on protecting yourself from a data breach:

 

https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/place-credit-freeze

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/equifax-data-breach-beware-these-3-scams/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/09/11/how-defend-yourseafter-equifax-data-breach-credit-report-freeze-strong-defense-against-identity-thef/654065001/