Equifax SSN Breach

PY004

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For those in the US with Social Security Numbers, Equifax has just announced that they have suffered a major breach and approximately 143 million Social Security Numbers were released.

To see if you were affected, you can go to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com and type in your last name, and last 6 digits of your Social Security Number.

For those who are concerned (rightfully) that this may be a scam, here are some links to legit sites that reference that domain.
https://investor.equifax.com/news-and-events/news/2017/09-07-2017-213000628
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/business/equifax-cyberattack.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/equifax-data-breach-how-to-check-if-youre-affected-2017-9

I hope none of you are affected.
 

greatguys1

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Wow... Looking forward to Tom Scott's video covering this now...
 

Thothie

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Actually, it's pretty easy to get ahold of anyone's SSN, and was, even before the internet (various phreakers published ways in the 80's), so this isn't as big a deal as it sounds. There's also a lot less you can do with a social security number alone these days, as a result, though it does open a few more doors and makes identity theft easier.

Having your SSN stolen more than once, however, can lead to headaches, as the system's only really designed for a one-time backup, being kind of archaic.
 
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PY004

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Normally I would agree. But in this case, it's SSN, Addresses (including former), Full Name, DoB. In relatively few cases, bank account and credit card information was leaked. Enough information for someone to open a line of credit.
 

Thothie

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I particularly like how they waited just long enough to report it to give the execs and major shareholders time to dump most of their stock.
 
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PY004

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Yeah it's messed up. I won't go as far as calling them horrible people. I mean, if I were an exec, I would have dumped the stocks too. But rather the purposeful delay is the despicable part.
 

Thothie

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Meh, I kinda always assume that my information is out there somewhere. I used to simply check my credit rating and active accounts once a week, but lately I'm tempted to get a widget to keep it on my desktop.

Last time someone stole my credit card, they went to a series of love hotels somewhere in Ohio - almost felt bad cutting them off, as they were making better use of my money than I was. :cool:
 
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