Equifax Data Breach: What it is and what you should do

What is it? From the middle of May through the end of June, a data breach at Equifax allowed thieves to steal 143 million people's names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver's license numbers. They also stole credit card numbers from about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal identifying information for about 182,000 people. While they were in the system, they grabbed personal information of people in the UK and Canada, too.

Am I affected? Probably. If you have a credit card, a car or house loan, a bank account, a phone, electricity, water or internet service, held a job or rented a house or apartment, there's about a 50/50 chance your information was in the data breach and can be used to steal your identity. Since that's most everybody, just assume you're affected.

What can I do about it? Here are the two things you should do right away. Seriously. Right away.

Get a copy of your credit report. Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com and request your free credit report from each Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. The site is very busy, and one or more of the reporting agencies may not be able to get your credit report, but it should give you a number to call. You can request a credit report once a year, for free. If the free site is down, use one of the paid credit report sites. You need your credit reports, one from each of the three.

Once you have your report, check it for any accounts or activity that you don't recognize. If you find any, it could indicate identity theft, and you need to go to identitytheft.gov to find out what to do next.

Freeze your credit. Freezing your credit makes it harder for someone to open any new credit in your name. It doesn't affect your credit score or any existing loans or cards you have.

Call all three credit reporting agencies and freeze your credit:

• TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872

• Equifax: 1-800-349-9960

• Experian: 1 888 397 3742

You must call all three. You might be able to do this online, but the websites are struggling with the traffic. The sites are automated and will ask for your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number and other personal information. There may be fees, $5 to $10 usually.

After receiving your freeze request, you get a unique PIN or password, sometimes in an email or a letter, or at the end of the call. Keep the PIN or password in a safe place: it's the only way to unfreeze your credit. There is lots more information online: I encourage you to do more reading on credit freezes.

If you decide not to do a credit freeze, consider a Fraud Alert. A fraud alert requires anyone running your credit to do a lot of work to verify your identity. You do have to get a police report first. Go to http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0279-extended-fraud-alerts-and-credit-freezes for more info on fraud alerts.

Getting your credit report to check for current suspicious activity and freezing your credit to prevent future activity will take some of your time. A few hours, maybe. You'll have to deal with automated phone systems and weird websites that don't work well, if at all, and long hold times on the phone. But going through this now is better than having your credit ruined and spending three to four years recovering from identity theft.

Do you have a computer or technology question? Greg Cunningham has been providing Tehachapi with on-site PC and network services since 2007. Email Greg at [email protected].