Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Credit-Major: TransUnion, Experian, Equifax
Credit-Minor: Innovis, Sagestream, Advanced Resolution Services
Banking: Chex Systems
Other: Lexis-Nexis

You should apply for credit freezes at all the institutions identified above. I consider credit monitoring to be worthless, but a credit freeze to be very worthwhile. Fraud Alerts may have some limited benefit, but a Credit Freeze is superior. Debit cards should only ONLY ONLY ever be used in an ATM. Using Debit cards for purchases dramatically increases the risk that they may be compromised - only use credit cards for purchases - especially online purchases.

I knew about the big 3, I had no idea about those others. I'll be setting up a freeze with them as well. Thanks for that.

I looked into what's involved in removing the freeze. Sadly, it seems the same information that was lost, can be used to reset the freeze pin. So it's just another layer of defense.

At this point in my life, I wish I could opt out entirely, a permanent delete and block of my information in all their databases.

My credit reports have been frozen for years and I highly recommend doing that. The minor fee to unfreeze temporarily is a price I am happy to pay for safety. I guess if you apply for dozens of credit cards a year this could become an issue.

Equifax' website said that based on my name and SSN my data were not stolen. Hmmmm. I am not entirely convinced I believe them. Has anyone tried and found that their information was stolen according to Equifax?

@realperson Yes, both me and wife. Waiting a few days to see if the TrustedID website gets kinks worked out as well as pays for freezes at the big 3.

My inner contrarian wants to buy some shares. Not cheap enough yet though.

diogenes dog wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:10 pm

My inner contrarian wants to buy some shares. Not cheap enough yet though.

+1

My wife and I both flagged the check. This is big enough that multiple levels of IT at my large corp have been sending out instructions to staff.

suomalainen wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:41 pm

diogenes dog wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:10 pm

My inner contrarian wants to buy some shares. Not cheap enough yet though.

+1

I shorted and bought to cover Equifax several times on the day of the announcement.

My credit files have been frozen for several years at the big 3, and so, I sleep easy.

Yes, it's inconvenient to temporarily unfreeze to take advantage of credit card offers and to refinance or get new loans, but well worth the effort and cost.

I had not heard of the 3 minor credit bureaus, but will putting credit freezes there too.

OMG... Equifax (Argentina) is really, seriously, incredibly incompetent!

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41257576

Anyone buying Equifax right now?

https://news.vice.com/story/equifax-sto ... ps-falling

I am not buying. Between the pending lawsuits, possible congressional action and the loss of business I am not convinced they will survive.

You could buy a small amount of shares if you enjoy a rollercoaster or like going to a casino.

https://www.wired.com/story/equifax-breach-no-excuse/

It looks to be a single point failure. Security systems design lacked a defense in depth. Extremely poor design which I believe is commonplace.

So in the last couple months, I've started to get way more credit alerts when my report changes. A couple weeks ago, I opened up a new card and I got reports of it from 2-3 other credit card companies (Chase, Discover, maybe Citi) and from Credit Karma. So all the services and cards/banks seem to be stepping up and offering more alerts on credit report changes.