Concerned about the Equifax breach? See our FAQ to learn more about the breach and how to protect yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve been hearing about the Equifax breach in the news. What happened?
Equifax, one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies, recently reported a massive data breach. The hackers accessed approximately 143 million people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. Hackers also stole credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal identifying information for about 182,000 people.
The data breach is among the worst ever because of the amount of people affected and the sensitive type of information exposed.
Was my information stolen?
If you have a credit report, there’s a good chance it was.
To find out if your personal information may have been impacted by the Equifax breach, you can go to the Equifax website and follow their instructions. Be sure you’re on a secure network (not public wi-fi) when you submit sensitive data over the internet. https://www.equifax.com *** Note: The Equifax site has been experiencing high volume and may be slow to respond. ***
What can I do to protect myself?
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Be very careful with any email communications about the Equifax breach. Scammers are going to try to infect your computer with malware by enticing you to click on bad links or to visit fake websites to steal even more of your personal data.
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Monitor all of your accounts often and report any suspicious activity. Online and mobile banking can help you monitor your accounts anytime.
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Monitor your credit reports. Check your credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for free by visiting https://www.annualcreditreport.com . Accounts or activity that you don’t recognize could indicate identity theft. Visit https://www.identitytheft.gov to find out more information on what to do.
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Sign up for credit monitoring and/or identity theft protection services. Equifax is offering one year of their identity theft protection and credit file monitoring services for free. See https://www.equifax.com *** Note: The Equifax site has been experiencing high volume and may be slow to respond. ***
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Place fraud alerts on your credit reports. Visit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov or take advantage of the free Fraud Defender Service service that is a benefit to all First Federal checking account holders. You may contact a Customer Service Representative at your local branch and they can help you take advantage of this service.
Should I place a credit freeze on my files?
Before deciding to place a credit freeze on your accounts, consider your personal situation. If you might be applying for credit soon or think you might need quick credit in an emergency, it might be better to simply place a fraud alert on your credit files with the three major credit bureaus. A fraud alert puts a red flag on your credit report which requires businesses to take additional steps, such as contacting you by phone before opening a new account.
How do I place a freeze on my files?
Visit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov for information on credit freezes.
To learn more about protecting yourself after a data breach, visit https://www.identitytheft.gov/Info-Lost-or-Stolen
