Equifax Says Cyberattack May Have Affected 143 Million Customers<br />Equifax, one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies, said on Thursday<br />that hackers had gained access to company data that potentially compromised sensitive information for 143 million American consumers, including Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers.<br />If identity thieves wanted to hit one place to grab all the data needed to do the most<br />damage, they would go straight to one of the three major credit reporting agencies.<br />“Confronting cybersecurity risks is a daily fight.”<br />Using the data stolen from Equifax, identity thieves can impersonate people with lenders, creditors<br />and service providers, who rely on personal identity information from Equifax to make financial decisions regarding potential customers.<br />Equifax is offering consumers the ability to freeze their Equifax credit reports, said John Ulzheimer, a consumer credit expert who often does expert witness work for banks<br />and credit unions and worked at Equifax in the 1990s.<br />The company also suggests getting a free copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
