EQUIFAX HACK and How to Respond to It

By Paul Cecala, September 25, 2017

Today, a friend and career coaching client of mine posed the following question to me. She did so because of my work with job seekers on preparing for background and reference checks in a job search.

Her question:

In the wake of the Equifax hack, any advice on how those in job search can protect themselves? It’s been recommended that people institute a credit freeze, which means the job seeker will have to pay to lift the freeze when a potential employer does a background check. Thoughts?

Here is my response:

First, I need to state that I am not an expert on this topic. So, I would recommend consulting your accountant or other financial professional. They will likely have more current and better information.

Also, use the other resources available to you. A simple search on LinkedIn posts for ‘Equifax data hack’ turned up a great deal of information from people far more knowledgeable than me. Some of their comments form the basis of this response.

It seems to me that everyone should follow the Equifax directions on registering for their free credit protection service as a starting point, a recommendation of CCNMoney. I have done so.

Outside of that, I think it is an individual issue of how secure is your credit information now, how secure has it been, and how often do you personally monitor it? If you monitor your credit regularly, reviewing credit and bank statements at least monthly, etc., then you likely will catch an issue when it arises.

Also, how well do your bank and credit card companies monitor for fraud? If they do a good job, then again, you will likely catch an issue quickly. But I would not depend on them alone. I still check my statements regularly and request my credit reports annually.

BUT, if you do not feel comfortable with these things, then you should consider taking additional measures like a credit freeze.

I further suggest you make monitoring your credit an ongoing part of your financial routine. The experts are saying that this is not a short-term issue for those who were breached. Once someone has those key primary identification data points (SSN, DOB, etc.) that do not change, they have them forever; and short of getting those data points legally and permanently changed, the hackers (or others) can always come back to them in 3, 5, 10, 25 years and use the information again.

Finally, I recommend keeping abreast of the latest developments in the news and on the Equifax website. I am sure over time, there will be more recommendations for actions you can or should take.

Here are 3 articles from trusted sources and had good advice:

1) CNNMoney article on immediate actions to take:
http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/07/pf/victim-equifax-hack-how-to-find-out/index.html

2) Post by Willem Knibbe on internet security and free LinkedIn courses:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/keeping-your-personal-data-willem-knibbe

3) LifeHacker article on ways to protect your credit:
http://lifehacker.com/what-to-do-if-you-were-affected-by-the-equifax-hack-1803081696

It is highly likely that we will only see increases in data breaches and internet hacks. It is incumbent on each of us to maintain our own data on the sites we use. Check your credit reports regularly. Watch for unauthorized activity on your accounts. Ad be careful with sharing personal data.

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Paul Cecala

Paul Cecala can help you navigate to your success. Learn more about his services here.