![]() What to do if your information is breached? You should check your credit report on an annual basis, but if you think your identity has been compromised, do so immediately. For the Equifax data breach, the company set up to help consumers find out if their information was compromised. You should check your credit report and look for any errors, new and unauthorized open accounts or any unauthorized charges on your credit cards. How to know if your information has been breached Active Duty Military Alert – protects deployed military for one year.Extended Fraud Alert – protects your credit identity for seven years, if you are a victim of identity theft.Initial Fraud Alert – protects your identity for 90 days from unverified access.Fraud alerts can stop someone from opening a new account in your name, but may not prevent them from misusing existing accounts. A fraud alert allows creditors to obtain a copy of your report, as long as they take steps to verify your identity. If you receive an adverse action notice based on the freeze, you should contact your agent or insurer.Īccording to the Federal Trade Commission, a credit freeze locks down your credit. This means that a consumer who is up for renewal and has excellent credit may experience an increase in their rate. If a freeze renders a consumer’s credit report inaccessible, the insurer may rate the consumer as if they have neutral credit information or exclude the use of credit information as a factor. In other cases, a policyholder may want to consider temporarily lifting a credit freeze. Some states allow insurers to access your credit information to underwrite or rate. A personal identification number (PIN) is required to lift it. There is no charge for consumers impacted by the Equifax data breach of 2017.Ī hacker cannot lift your credit freeze and open a new line of credit. You may have to pay for the temporary lift, so check with one of the credit reporting agencies. Note: you can temporarily lift the credit freeze for a specified time to conduct this business. Stop you from opening a new account, applying for a job, renting an apartment or buying insurance. ![]() Prevent you from getting a free annual credit report.Without a credit report, most creditors won’t approve or open a new account. What happens when you freeze your credit?Ī credit freeze or security alert, restricts access to your credit report, thwarting would-be hackers from gaining access to your personal information. Before you take this step, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has these tips for your consideration. Equifax took immediate steps to help affected consumers, including freezing customers’ credit. If you have a credit report, chances are you were impacted by the Equifax breach. A favorable credit score often results in lower interest and insurance rates. Bankers and insurers use your credit information when granting loans and pricing and underwriting insurance products. Guarding against identity theft is important because bankers and insurers reward good credit. ![]() Hackers accessed names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. More than 143 million Americans’ personal information was exposed when Equifax announced earlier this year it was the victim of a data breach.
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