Equifax, more problems

Article for:Adults who want protection from Identity theft.

Difficulty: Moderate 

	Importance: This will reduce your chance of identity theft

Equifax has done it again. They have started a new "My Equifax" account to control your Equifax credit reports. Here's what they say about it.

Welcome to myEquifax, where you can easily manage your Equifax security freeze and fraud alert or active duty alert needs in one place. With your myEquifax account, you can conveniently place, temporarily lift, or remove your security freeze online without having to remember your PIN. But, do keep that PIN in a safe place if you need to call us so we can service you quickly; either via our automated line at 800-349-9960, or a consumer care agent at 888-836-6351.

The problems are that:

It is very possible with their lousy security, for someone else to get your account. They just need to answer 4 multiple choice questions with information that is mostly accessible online. A hacker could then unfreeze your frozen account.
It makes it very hard to freeze your child's credit reports. More and more miscreants are stealing children's identities and using them to set up credit. The recommended solution to this is freezing your children's credit reports. I recommended this last October. However, according to the NY Times, Equifax makes this needlessly difficult.
Their pathetically weak security puts everything you give them at risk. They have the following disclaimer on their site: 'This web site is provided "as is," with no warranties of any kind.' They do not appear to understand how to store passwords safely. Since they haven't figured that out yet, we cannot trust that they are within 20 years of current safety procedures. However, leaving your account available to random hackers is even more dangerous.

Recommendation

Sadly, I recommend that you get your My Equifax account before someone else does.

Keeping clients' computers safe and profitable for over 30 years

Home Forms About Current Newsletter subscribe Search All Articles Browse by Category Security Internet Mobile Business Hardware Fun		Equifax, more problems Article for:Adults who want protection from Identity theft. Difficulty: Moderate Importance: This will reduce your chance of identity theft Equifax has done it again. They have started a new "My Equifax" account to control your Equifax credit reports. Here's what they say about it. Welcome to myEquifax, where you can easily manage your Equifax security freeze and fraud alert or active duty alert needs in one place. With your myEquifax account, you can conveniently place, temporarily lift, or remove your security freeze online without having to remember your PIN. But, do keep that PIN in a safe place if you need to call us so we can service you quickly; either via our automated line at 800-349-9960, or a consumer care agent at 888-836-6351. The problems are that: It is very possible with their lousy security, for someone else to get your account. They just need to answer 4 multiple choice questions with information that is mostly accessible online. A hacker could then unfreeze your frozen account. It makes it very hard to freeze your child's credit reports. More and more miscreants are stealing children's identities and using them to set up credit. The recommended solution to this is freezing your children's credit reports. I recommended this last October. However, according to the NY Times, Equifax makes this needlessly difficult. Their pathetically weak security puts everything you give them at risk. They have the following disclaimer on their site: 'This web site is provided "as is," with no warranties of any kind.' They do not appear to understand how to store passwords safely. Since they haven't figured that out yet, we cannot trust that they are within 20 years of current safety procedures. However, leaving your account available to random hackers is even more dangerous. Recommendation Sadly, I recommend that you get your My Equifax account before someone else does. Further reading Brian Krebs Blog NY Times Date: April 2019 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
		I attempt to provide reliable information, but make no warranty as to the accuracy or safety of these articles. I disclaim all legal responsibility for what following these instructions may do. Follow my advice at your own risk

Keeping clients' computers safe and profitable for over 30 years

Equifax, more problems

The problems are that:

Recommendation

Further reading