As you may have heard, Equifax recently experienced a breach of 143 million US consumers data. If your data was stolen, you are NOW a victim of identity theft. Now, what do you do?
The stolen identity data is commonly referred to as Personally Identifiable Information (
We recommend your next step should be to ensure you don’t also become a victim of identity fraud which could hurt your credit.
Keep reading to learn more. Also, we highly recommend you share this important email with your clients,
Identity fraud is when the stolen PII is used to establish a fraudulent account. The perpetrators most often
We feel strongly that there is only one viable identity fraud prevention and detection solution- credit monitoring.
We highly recommend using a trusted credit monitoring tool that does the following:
-Allows you to access data from all three major credit bureaus
-Refreshes your credit reports on a monthly basis
-Provides you with 24/7 alerts when there are changes in your credit – specifically if someone applies for credit in your name.
-Maintaining a credit monitoring service is a wise decision at the best of times, and is absolutely vital when it comes to protecting yourself against fraud.
Equifax is saying they are going to provide free monitoring to victims. Click here to see if your data was breached.
Based on what we’ve been able to learn so far, this monitoring service…
-Is not available for all impacted persons yet even though fraudulent activity is happening right now
-Comes with strings attached and possibly hidden fees
-Does not give you access to all three credit bureau reports.
-Why monitoring Equifax’s credit bureau data isn’t enough?
If a fraudster applies for credit at ABC Retail Store, and ABC Retail Store pulls your Trans Union credit report to determine your eligibility, you won’t see an inquiry at Equifax. There will only be an inquiry at
In this example, it would take 30-60 days before the new account reports to all three credit bureaus, so you most likely wouldn’t learn about the new fraudulent account until the fraudster maxes out the account.
Where can you find a good credit monitoring tool?
At bSquared Credit, we are very familiar with credit monitoring tools and have found a 3rd party service provided by IdentityIQ.com is one of the best options available, for the price. For our customers, Identity IQ offers a discounted monthly rate of $19.99, which doesn’t start until after the 7-day trial ends. If you decide you want to establish a credit monitoring account for yourself, you are welcome to use our company’s discount link below:
https://www.identityiq.
Note: This link doesn’t give us access to your reports or data. Its sole purpose is to make sure you don’t pay Identity IQ’s monthly credit monitoring retail rate of $29.99.
Once you’ve received your credit reports and scores from Identity IQ, feel free to contact our office if you would like us to go over your reports with you,
especially if you see an inquiry you don’t recognize, or if you desire credit advice.
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