Attorney General addresses
questions regarding Equifax security breach and its impact on
Illinois residents
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[September 13, 2017]
Chicago
– Attorney General Madigan has received an outpouring of questions
from concerned and confused Illinois residents about whether their
sensitive personal information has been compromised by Equifax’s
massive data breach. In response, Madigan is providing updated
information to Illinois residents and calling on Equifax to pay
credit freeze fees for people with all three major credit reporting
agencies, including Experian and TransUnion.
Late last week, Equifax announced it had suffered a massive data
breach of sensitive consumer information from May to July of this
year, impacting as many as 143 million Americans. Yesterday, Equifax
notified Madigan that in Illinois, the breach may impact more than
5.4 million residents.
“Equifax has failed to answer basic questions that millions of
Americans whose personal information it likely lost have including:
How did the data breach happen? What is Equifax going to do to fix
it? And why did it take Equifax six weeks to notify people that
their personal information had been stolen?” Madigan said. “Most
importantly, it appears that Equifax currently does not have the
ability to accurately determine whether your personal information
has been stolen. I suggest you assume it has been and put a credit
freeze on your credit report to get the best protection you can from
identity theft. Equifax needs to stop wasting time and making
excuses and start paying for long-term protections that its security
failure has made imperative for most Americans.”
Consumers are confused as to whether they have been impacted by the
breach, and what they should do if they determine their personal
information has been compromised. Some Illinois residents say they
received different answers from Equifax at different times,
depending on the browser platform they used. Consumers also reported
that the Equifax website was inaccessible at times due to high
traffic volume.
The main questions Madigan is hearing from consumers include:
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Q: How do I know if I’ve been impacted?
A: Equifax’s data breach impacts about half of all Americans, and at
least half of all adults in Illinois. To find out if you have been
impacted, check the Equifax website: www.equifaxsecurity2017.com to
see whether your personal information may be affected by the breach.
Regardless of what you learn, however, the best thing to do is place
a freeze on your credit and sign up for free credit reports. Madigan
reminds people, “It’s not a matter of if, but when you will become a
victim of identity theft.”
Q: If I have been impacted, what should I do?
A: You should put in place measures to protect and monitor your
credit. To protect themselves more broadly, consumers should sign up
for a credit freeze with Experian and TransUnion, in addition to
Equifax.
Currently in Illinois, unless you are over 65 years of age, an
identity theft victim with a police report, or an active duty
service member, you will be charged $10 to place the freeze with
Experian and TransUnion. See Madigan’s Identity Theft Resource Guide
for specific instructions on how to place a credit freeze with
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Equifax recently indicated that
the company will waive the $10 charges for consumers who request an
Equifax credit freeze in the next 30 days.
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Madigan says she is working with the Illinois legislature to change
Illinois law to require free credit freezes for anyone for any
reason.
Q: I don’t understand the terms and conditions of the free credit
monitoring and free credit freeze that Equifax is offering?
Arbitration – Consumers are concerned that in its the terms
and conditions, Equifax includes an arbitration clause that requires
them to give up their right to sue Equifax over the free credit
monitoring and free credit lock service.
A: Equifax recently clarified that it will not be requiring
consumers to agree to such terms.
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Auto-renewal of the service after the free year
expires – Consumers are concerned that by supplying their credit
card number when enrolling in the free service, Equifax will
automatically charge them after the period of free service expires.
A: Equifax recently stated that they will no longer require credit
card numbers and clarified that consumers won’t be automatically
renewed and charged for service at the end of the free service.
Q: I tried to sign up for the free credit
monitoring and free credit lock that Equifax is offering, but they
keep asking for more information, and I am not comfortable giving it
to them. What should I do?
A: Make sure you go to the following website
www.equifaxsecurity2017.com to start the process. Be aware
that Equifax is asking questions in order to verify your identity
before the company sends you information about your credit report.
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Madigan urges Illinois residents to take the Equifax breach
seriously and take steps to protect themselves from the possibility
of identity theft:
Seriously consider placing a credit freeze on your credit reports
with all three consumer reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian,
and Equifax. Equifax recently indicated that they will waive their
Security Freeze fees for consumers who request a freeze in the next
30 days;
Regularly request your free credit reports at
www.annualcreditreport.com, inspect them closely, and promptly
dispute any unauthorized accounts;
Inspect all financial account statements regularly and promptly
dispute any unauthorized charges;
Consider placing alerts on your financial accounts to ensure your
financial institution alerts you when money above a pre-designated
amount is withdrawn;
Beware of potential phishing emails; don't open any email messages
or attachments from unknown senders and do not click on any unknown
links. Fraudsters will frequently send coercive and misleading
emails threatening account suspension or worse if sensitive
information is not provided. Remember, businesses will never ask
customers to verify account information via email. If in doubt,
contact the business in question directly for verification and to
report phishing emails; and
Be on the lookout for spoofed email addresses. Spoofed email
addresses are those that make minor changes in the domain name,
frequently changing the letter O to the number zero, or the
lowercase letter l to the number one. Scrutinize all incoming email
addresses to ensure that the sender is truly legitimate.
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Madigan is nationally recognized for aggressively protecting
consumers from the financial threat of identity theft amid a series
of unprecedented data breaches at some of the country’s largest
retailers. She has testified before Congress on the cause of data
breaches, the need for higher security for consumers’ personal
information and notification when breaches occur. Madigan’s Identity
Theft Unit, which provides one-on-one assistance to victims of
identity theft and data breaches, has helped over 43,000 people
remove over $29 million worth of fraudulent charges affecting their
credit reports and financial accounts.
Madigan is leading a multistate investigation to determine how the
Equifax breach happened, address the consumer harm, take steps to
help prevent such financial disasters in the future and hold Equifax
accountable.
Madigan encourages people to contact her Identity Theft Hotline at 1
(866) 999-5630 or to review the Identity Theft resources on her
website. The hotline is staffed with identity theft experts who can
help victims report the crime to local law enforcement and financial
institutions, work to repair their credit and prevent future theft.
Hotline operators can also assist callers who want to take proactive
steps to prevent their personal information from being stolen.
[Office of the Attorney General Lisa
Madigan]
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