Very good friends of ours mentioned that they'd been checking constantly to see if I might have started posting on my blog yet. Sigh... I've been so preoccupied with our travel photobooks that it's consuming all my spare time. It was suggested that I write a post a week until I can restart my blog on its usual schedule just so they'd have something to reward their efforts for keeping in touch.
Hmmm... sounded like a good idea. So here goes.
Has the Equifax breach scared you? It sure has us shivering in our boots (or slippers... whatever). We checked with Equifax and got the message that... yes... we are at risk. Arrrrghhh!
TV news said putting a freeze on your credit was one way to protect yourself, but it could cause some difficulties too for many reasons. We looked online and were getting more and more confused as to what to do.
We tried freezing our credit with Equifax online, but it didn't work. When we called them, they said their service was overwhelmed. We tried Experian and that didn't work either. We then looked at the 3rd credit reporting site, TransUnion and saw this. It said it was a way to lock your credit rating and to inform you of anyone trying to open an account in your name.
FREE sounded really good.
So we signed up.
Then I told our son-in-law in the morning about how locking it as opposed to freezing it (which is a little trickier) was FREE.
So he looked and asked why they would ask for a credit card if it was free.
Sigh... in our tiredness after looking at all these sites and filling out information constantly, we didn't read the fine print.
It's free for 7 (or was it 30?) days. Then they start charging you $19.95 a month.
Arrrrghhhh!
Sooooo.....
Now we had to figure out how to cancel.
It was very, very, very HARD!!!
They make it very, very, very difficult to cancel once you sign on.
We called TransUnion and were on the phone for 35 minutes waiting to speak to a live person and gave up. I was finally able to figure it out on my own and managed to cancel, but it was exhausting and stressful!
So no...
We won't do the lock.
I still don't know if the freeze is the way to go. Art says AAA already monitors our credit so maybe, maybe, maybe that's some protection.
How do you know?
What have you done?
POSTSCRIPT: I was still so worried that I asked my son-in-law what we should do. He told us not to do the freeze and just monitor our credit reports. Don't tell him, but just in case... we went to the bank and asked them the same question. The manager told me the same thing. She said any bank account we have is safe, but as our son-in-law said, we should keep a close watch on our credit reports, charge cards, etc.
OK....
The more I hear, the more I'm disgusted with Equifax.
Hmmm... sounded like a good idea. So here goes.
Has the Equifax breach scared you? It sure has us shivering in our boots (or slippers... whatever). We checked with Equifax and got the message that... yes... we are at risk. Arrrrghhh!
TV news said putting a freeze on your credit was one way to protect yourself, but it could cause some difficulties too for many reasons. We looked online and were getting more and more confused as to what to do.
We tried freezing our credit with Equifax online, but it didn't work. When we called them, they said their service was overwhelmed. We tried Experian and that didn't work either. We then looked at the 3rd credit reporting site, TransUnion and saw this. It said it was a way to lock your credit rating and to inform you of anyone trying to open an account in your name.
FREE sounded really good.
So we signed up.
Then I told our son-in-law in the morning about how locking it as opposed to freezing it (which is a little trickier) was FREE.
So he looked and asked why they would ask for a credit card if it was free.
Sigh... in our tiredness after looking at all these sites and filling out information constantly, we didn't read the fine print.
It's free for 7 (or was it 30?) days. Then they start charging you $19.95 a month.
Arrrrghhhh!
Sooooo.....
Now we had to figure out how to cancel.
It was very, very, very HARD!!!
They make it very, very, very difficult to cancel once you sign on.
We called TransUnion and were on the phone for 35 minutes waiting to speak to a live person and gave up. I was finally able to figure it out on my own and managed to cancel, but it was exhausting and stressful!
So no...
We won't do the lock.
I still don't know if the freeze is the way to go. Art says AAA already monitors our credit so maybe, maybe, maybe that's some protection.
How do you know?
What have you done?
POSTSCRIPT: I was still so worried that I asked my son-in-law what we should do. He told us not to do the freeze and just monitor our credit reports. Don't tell him, but just in case... we went to the bank and asked them the same question. The manager told me the same thing. She said any bank account we have is safe, but as our son-in-law said, we should keep a close watch on our credit reports, charge cards, etc.
OK....
The more I hear, the more I'm disgusted with Equifax.
I have very little anyone could use and if I get any unexplained charges or new credit cards, I will just call the bank and tell them those are spam. I just can't take on anything else to worry about.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, after I had left Bank of America, I received a bill from them for a charge in Thailand. They continued to bill be even after I told them several times that I had never been out of the country....let alone to Thailand. I finally had to threaten to sue them if they continued to bill me. That stopped it.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see you "face" here in Blogland, Kay, so I agree that it sure is nice to hear from you once in awhile. I also didn't do anything with the Equifax information because I get a notice from my bank if they have any questions about a charge. I figure there are so many people compromised that it's a little like winning the lottery in reverse if I get hacked. And after learning of your woes trying to protect yourself, I feel I made the right decision.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't even been aware of this but it is good reminder to be vigilant. Mike used to go through all financial statements with a fine tooth comb on an obsessively (I thought at the time) regular basis. I tried to keep hat up, but have fallen into a very lax attitude lately. I am resolving now to do better!
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you Kay. This Equinox thing is disturbing.
ReplyDeleteEquifax I meant to say.
DeleteIt can be scary
ReplyDeleteMy friend described freezing credit. I replied we're all screwed; we've given over our lives. So, watch the credit cards. We'll figure out how to live with it.
ReplyDeleteI had my identity compromised 4 years ago, and it was the fault of the school district where I worked all those years. They have only now admitted that a whole block of employee data was stolen, and they only admitted it when the police stepped in because they had caught the culprits with the actual printouts!
ReplyDeleteI have 3 different agencies monitoring my credit, one of which I pay for and will do so for the rest of my life. This is an ongoing situation. Once your data has been breached, there is no going back. Two of the monitoring agencies are free for a couple of years, provided by the school district and also our tax service. The other one, the one I pay for, comes through AAA insurance where we are members. It costs $89 a year and monitors all credit bureaus and social security number.
so happy you are back, i'm just doing 2-3 posts/week and sometimes only 1. makes it so much easier...enjoyed your post we just had a church meeting for the women about this last Tuesday. They suggested the same thing-watch your credit reports. lots of extra work...grr!
ReplyDeleteYES! Us too. And I was and am mad about it. I let my Senator know! I used the Transunion website and put fraud alerts on for BOTH of us (Hubby and me). It's free, they have to notify the other 2 companies. Good for 9- days AND renewable. They gave us more than 90 days till jan 1 2018. Yes, FDIC protects our banked funds as our banker told us also. But do get your FREE credit report from each of them once a year (that's three peeks a year) I always reconcile my credit card monthly too. We should be OK. . . . . with N. Korea and the disaster in the white house these are not relaxing times. More important than ever to care for self and others and to appreciate today :) Warmly, c
ReplyDeleteFraud alerts? Hmmmm.... That's a new one for me. It's different from the Lock or Freeze? I shall look into it. Thanks so much.
DeleteKay, if you go to your local bank, and we did, they will put alerts on all your accounts.
DeleteGreat to see you again.
I put a freeze on all my accounts through all 4 agencies. I didn't have any problem doing this but I did it as soon as I read about it so they weren't that busy with it yet. My bank also emails me every time there is a charge on my account and all my cards are with my bank so they will know as soon as it happens.
ReplyDeleteKay, this is very helpful. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSo good to see you back. Thanks for doing all the leg work for us. Think I will just watch my cards and accounts closely. Our trust in man sure has taken a hit.
ReplyDeleteMy bank sent me this warning: "Ring, ring. "This is Equifax calling to verify your account information." Stop. Don’t tell them anything. They’re not from Equifax. It’s a scam. Equifax will not call you out of the blue.
ReplyDeleteThat’s just one scam you might see after Equifax’s recent data breach. Other calls might try to trick you into giving your personal information. Here are some tips for recognizing and preventing phone scams and imposter scams:
• Don’t give personal information. Don’t provide any personal or financial information unless you’ve initiated the call and it’s to a phone number you know is correct.
• Don’t trust caller ID. Scammers can spoof their numbers so it looks like they are calling from a particular company, even when they’re not.
• If you get a robocall, hang up. Don't press 1 to speak to a live operator or any other key to take your number off the list. If you respond by pressing any number, it will probably just lead to more robocalls.
If you’ve already received a call that you think is fake, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
If you gave your personal information to an imposter, it’s time to change any compromised passwords, account numbers or security questions. And if you’re concerned about identity theft, visit www.IdentityTheft.gov to learn how you can protect yourself.
For more information about the Equifax breach, visit Equifax’s website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com "
Thank you, Annie! This is great information. I love it that we can all help each other.
DeleteOther than checking our credit card statements online and getting my one free credit report a year from each agency I'm not going to worry about the breach.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't too worried about it - why would they pick on a small fry like me? I always balance my accounts and verify charges so the worst they could do would be to open a credit line or credit card in my name but then I could point to the Equifax breach and all becomes good again.
ReplyDeleteGoing for a HELOC this week with our credit union. Hopefully it has become easier to get a loan because a couple of years ago, it was like going through the ringer and then they say "NO." How rude, yeah?
I checked on Equifax too and got the "probably" message. i couldn't get any farther than you did with any of the overwhelmed companies. I'm going to stop worrying about it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're back, even if just once in a while. (Was beginning to worry about health stuff among your family members.) But I did remember you were going to do scrapbook work.
ReplyDeleteMy bank and cards would call if anything was unusual. I've always called them if going out of town so they wouldn't hold a charge. They seem to really make note of those events. Besides the usual report check, I gave up trying to defend myself from all the breaches. Cheers, Linda in Kansas
Hi Linda, Healthwise we're doing OK although mom is still suffering back pain from her fall and is hunched more. I'll be taking her to the doctor next month to check everything out. But she's functioning OK. I'm feeling swamped with trying to get these photobooks done. Sigh... But I know the grandkids will really like having them. It was five weeks of activities...
DeleteIsn't this awful? I hope you and yours are well. I've been having fun with photobooks, too!
ReplyDeleteWe checked with our bank and followed the suggestions of all the major news sources. We put alerts on all our bank accounts, and we froze all three credit reporting reports. G found one site where you can do it all. I include it in this entry:
ReplyDeletehttp://urban-archology.blogspot.com/2017/09/readying.html
The next day G withdrew 200 from our checking account, and moments later we got our first alert. We had set withdrawals on that account at 200. LOL
We asked two managers from two banks in Hawaii and for some reason, they didn't think we needed to do that. I don't know what to believe. Sigh....
DeleteYou must assume your accounts were hacked and take care of yourself.
DeleteKay - my husband put alerts on all credit card charges. Thankfully they go to his email account. If I'm out shopping he can track my progress. LOL He also put credit freezes with the three credit check companies for both of us. We realized we are at the age we are not opening new charge accounts, not taking out loans or mortgages. It took him all afternoon using the phone. It was a pain but in this age of technology a necessity.
ReplyDeleteHi Kay, it's so good to see you. I only post once a week (whenever possible), just could not keep up the pace anymore what with the double caregiving duties. It works out pretty well for me. You might get to like it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this great information, it is really helpful.
Wishing you a wonderful week, stay safe my friend.
I'm going to stop worrying about it.
ReplyDeleteหนังà¸à¸à¸™à¹„ลน์
http://www.timegoesby.net/weblog/2017/09/what-medigap-changes-mean-for-elders.html
ReplyDeleteRonnie Bennett has a link to a New York Times article about what you should do at the bottom of this entry.
I'm still trying to figure out what path to take. So rough. :(
ReplyDeletePeople also don't understand the difference between "peek" and "peak".
ReplyDeleteTerry froze our credit. Her is a good rundown on what to do.
ReplyDeletehttp://consumersunion.org/pdf/security/securityHI.pdf