Equifax Data Breach

What to do Now:

Go to https://identitytheft.gov/ to get an overview of the steps to take when you are a victim of identity theft.

Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to request free copies of your credit reports if you haven’t requested any of them yet this year.

You should visit the Equifax site if you haven't already http://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/ and follow the steps to find out if your information has been exposed. My info has been exposed. So I’m right there with you.

You can also enroll in the free credit monitoring they are offering if you choose. But, be advised, there are alternative credit monitoring services available although not all of them are free and it is wise to be leery of signing up for any service being offered by Equifax.

You should contact TransUnion and Experian to either put a freeze or fraud alert on your file. Here's an overview of the difference, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs#difference

Each company also offers credit monitoring services. If the actions of Equifax have weakened your trust in Experian and TransUnion, I don’t blame you. There are alternative credit monitoring services available but contacting TransUnion and Experian is a good place to start.

*If you decide to put a freeze on your credit file, you may need to unfreeze your credit file at some point which may incur some fees. Unfreezing will be required if you will be applying for any new accounts in the near future(mortgage, auto loan/lease, student loan, etc).