Action 9

FTC warning: Watch out for scams in wake of Equifax data breach

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday confirmed that it is investigating a massive data breach at credit reporting giant Equifax which exposed the sensitive information of millions of Americans.

Peter Kaplan, FTC’s acting director of public affairs, said that the agency typically does not comment on ongoing investigations in a statement obtained by Politico.

[Equifax breach: You can sue if your data was exposed; here's how]

“However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, I can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the Equifax data breach,” Kaplan said.

The FTC is warning people that Equifax will not call them to verify personal information because of the breach.

“Don’t tell them anything,” said an official with the FTC. “They’re not from Equifax, it’s a scam. Equifax will not call you out of the blue.”

  • Click here if you want to freeze your credit.
  • Click here if you want to sign up for free credit monitoring for one year.
  • Click here if you want to know more about class action lawsuits involving the breach.

Equifax, one of America’s three major credit bureaus, said last week that a “cyber security incident” might have exposed the names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses of 143 million Americans. Driver’s license numbers might have also been accessed, the company said.

Equifax set up a website to help affected consumers and keep them abreast of updates in the company's investigation. On a frequently asked questions section of the site, Equifax officials identified the flaw that allowed hackers to access sensitive information as one flagged publicly last year.

The breach took place from mid-May through July 2017, according to Equifax.

The No. 1 way to protect yourself from identity fraud is by freezing your credit. But one of the main questions consumers want to know is what are the steps involved in freezing their credit.

The first thing you need to do is contact the three main credit agencies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. You can do this online or by mail. There is a modest fee associated with freezing your credit, ranging from $3 to $10 per person per bureau (in some states, it may be a bit more), but it’s a relatively small price to pay when you think of what it would cost you if your identity were stolen.

  • Equifax: 1-800-349-9960
  • Experian: 1-888-397-3742
  • TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872