Massive Data Breach Puts All Consumers At Risk

Many news agencies have reported that a massive data breach occurred earlier this year at a company called National Public Data, a check company. As many as 2.7 billion records were stolen, with each listing an individual's full name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number - in other words, the most important information needed to steal someone's identity.

Act Now to Protect Your Credit File

While identity theft is always a possibility, this most recent data breach makes it easy for fraudsters to open accounts and obtain credit in someone else's name. In order to protect your credit file (also called a credit report), you can place a credit freeze on your data at each of the three large credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. Freezing your credit record makes it much harder for someone to open an account or obtain credit in your name.

How to Place a Credit Freeze

In order to place a credit freeze, you will need to go to each credit bureau's website, setup an account (or enroll in their services), and request a credit freeze. There is no cost to this service. Each bureau offers other services that may have a cost.

Experian -  https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

Equifax - https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/

Trans Union - https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze

Keep Track of Your Login Information

Once you have setup an account with each of the three bureaus, remember to keep track of your login ID and password - you will need these to unfreeze your credit temporarily if you apply for a loan. For more information about how credit freezes work, visit the website for each of the three credit bureaus listed above.