I told you last week about the massive leak of the private information of over 140 million people after a cyber attack against credit monitoring company Equifax. Among the data leaked: Social Security numbers, driver’s license information, names, phone numbers, and even home addresses. You can click here to read the article and learn how to find out if you were affected.
Now, critics are slamming the company for their response. While Equifax discovered the breach on the 29th of July, they did not notify customers of the problem until September 7th, even though the breach began back in May.
The company has also been criticized for the help site it created where users can check if they’ve been affected https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com. The site can be a little confusing. You have to click through to several different pages before you get to the page that lets you check your information:
https://trustedidpremier.com/eligibility/eligibility.html
The page isn’t on Equifax’s regular website but on a separate domain. Plus users must enter their name and the last six numbers of their Social Security number to find out if they’ve been affected. If you have been affected, you’re told to enroll in Equifax’s TrustedID Premier identify theft protection service. Once you click the button, you have to write down your date of enrollment and then head over to the trustedpremier.com site and finish your enrollment.
This all means that a lot of steps are required of the consumer. The company updated the security site on Friday, apologizing for the difficulties some customers had with the site and getting through to the 1-800 number. I’ll update you with more on this situation as it develops.
Thank you for clarifying and posting updates as you get more information…You have been doing a fine job on your own since the demise of your last employer, keep up the great work.