About half (143 Million)  of  American consumers sensitive personal information was exposed in a data breach at Equifax, one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies. According to Equifax, the breach lasted about two and a half months, from mid-May through July. The hackers accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. They also stole credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal identifying information for about 182,000 people.

There are steps to take to help protect your information from being misused.

1. Visit Equifax’s website.
2. Find out if your information was exposed. Click on the “Potential Impact” tab and enter your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number. Your Social Security number is sensitive information, so make sure you’re on a secure computer and an encrypted network connection any time you enter it. The site will tell you if you’ve been affected by this breach.
3. Whether or not your information was exposed, U.S. consumers can get a year of free credit monitoring and other services. The site will give you a date when you can come back to enroll. Write down the date and come back to the site and click “Enroll” on that date. You have until November 21, 2017 to enroll.
4. You also can access frequently asked questions at the site.

For additional information and other steps that you can take to protect yourself, visit the website for the Federal Trade Commission.

* The information contained in this Blog is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion of counsel.