THIS is exactly why I'm so glad I did a credit freeze with all three credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) over 10 years ago. Setting up the freeze initially requires a bit of work - you have to send certified letters requesting it - but once it's in place, it's quite a bit of peace of mind. You can unfreeze your credit temporarily when you have to refinance a mortgage or buy a car. Imho, credit-monitoring services are half assed and you're paying a monthly or annual fee for someone to close the barn doors after the horse has bolted. Useful info here on freezing your credit: http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/division_ ... /finance/creditfreeze.htm

Hackers may have the names and social security numbers of 143 million Americans after a massive breach of credit-reporting agency Equifax, the company said Thursday.

That?s more than half of the nation?s adult population, according to census figures.

Hackers also trawled through birth dates, addresses and driver?s license numbers, as well as 209,000 credit card numbers, during a massive breach between mid-May and July 29, the company reported.

?I deeply regret this incident and I apologize every affected consumer and all of our partners,? CEO Richard Smith said.

The hackers ?exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access,? a company statement said.

Upon discovering the massive breach, Equifax hired a ?leading, independent cybersecurity firm? to review the attack and recommend ways to prevent future attacks, the company said.

Equifax is offering every U.S. consumer in the country free identity-theft protection and credit-file monitoring through the website www.equifaxsecurity2017.com ? regardless whether their information was compromised, Smith said.

Source

Equifax executives sold stock days after the company learned of a massive hack