There are two things that seem to be at the forefront of everyone's mind at the moment: Mother Nature's most recent wave of hurricanes and the Equifax security blunder. Unfortunately, it's impossible to prevent a hurricane, but it is possible to defend one's valuable information against cybercriminals.
Cyberwar is becoming an ever-increasing threat, and it may be time to start treating the potential for identity theft the way we hedge risk against damage to our home or vehicle. In other words, it may be time to start treating identity theft protection as a standard insurance policy.
We do not intend for this email to scare our clients. However, we want to be transparent about the realistic possibility of a cyber-attack. The following tips can help protect your identity, personal information, and credit score, both in the short and long-term.
Check, Check, and Re-check Your Credit
First and foremost, consider enrolling in Equifax's program. We understand if you're skeptical as this is the same company that's notorious for its recent prize-winning security malfunction. However, in the event your personal information may have been stolen, Equifax will provide a year of free credit monitoring.
To enroll, go to Equifax Enrollment. After clicking "begin enrollment," you will be asked to enter your last name and the last six digits of your social security number.
Next, you will receive a message reporting whether or not your information is at risk. If you receive a message stating that your information may have been affected, you should consider enrolling in the Equifax credit monitoring program.
If you receive a message stating that you were not affected, we still advise that you check your credit report at least three times a year. The government requires all three of the major credit rating agencies to provide an annual, free credit report. Therefore, you can obtain an up-to-date credit report three times a year without bearing any cost.
Below is a link to request your free credit report:
Click Here to Request Your Free Annual Credit Report
We do not feel that there is a set interval one should request a credit report, but in light of the recent security breach, we believe it's wise to request a report before the end of the month.
The most prevalent long-term concern following this breach is the stagnant nature of a person's identity. Your social security number and personal identity do not change, so while you may not see any suspicious activity this year or next, you may be affected in ten years when you least expect a compromise. We believe that portions of this risk can be hedged by habitually obtaining a free-credit report three times a year. You are not responsible for charges made on a fraudulent card or account opening, but you must report the charges in a punctual fashion. Therefore, regularly checking your credit is pertinent to ensuring a compromise can be remedied.
Determine the Consequences of Freezing Your Credit
The most effective security defense against fraudulent account openings and subsequent charges is to freeze your credit. While this approach has been the most widely recommended prevention strategy in the wake of the Equifax breach, we do not feel comfortable making this recommendation to all of our clients.
Freezing credit is not wise for those who foresee a need to get a car loan, refinance a mortgage, or open any type of credit.
For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, we understand that some of our clients may need to take out an additional line of credit for home or automobile repairs with very little notice. For these clients, we do not recommend that they freeze their credit. The process of unfreezing one's credit has proven to be slow and arduous, and we expect this delay to worsen as understaffed agencies race to meet the increasing demands spurring from recent events.
Though it is not upon us yet, be wary during tax season as it is a common practice for identity theft to be directly associated with fraudulent tax return filings as a means to receive an individual's tax refund.
The Equifax breach and the ever-increasing emphasis on cyber warfare have turned our associates' attention toward the evolution of identity theft protection as a standard insurance policy. This may not be music to our clients' ears. Frankly, we may be years away from such a measure being warranted. While we are far from making a decision or recommendation one way or the other, we wanted our clients to understand our thinking so they can decide whether or not this additional piece of insurance is vital to their peace of mind.
Below are links to a few articles we've found helpful throughout our own research.
Equifax Drops Credit Freeze Fee
The One Move to Make after Equifax Breach
Equifax: A Category 5 Data Breach
Our thoughts are with our clients as they recover from the breach. We are aware of the situation and are researching additional ways our firm and our clients can defend against cybercriminals. Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns.
