Attorney General issues consumer alert after Equifax breach

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter today has issued a consumer alert after last week’s Equifax breach that affected 143 million individuals nationwide.

Equifax, one of the nation’s largest credit reporting agencies, announced on Sept. 7 it had experienced a cybersecurity incident. The breach occurred between May and July, allowing personal information, including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses, to be exposed to hackers.

Hunter said the threat has potentially left all Oklahomans exposed. He urges individuals who haven’t already taken action to see if their personal information has been compromised, to do so immediately.

“There is a risk all Oklahomans had their personal and private information stolen by hackers,” Hunter said. “Individuals must be diligent and take the proper steps to protect their families and loved ones.”

The attorney general’s Consumer Protection Unit encourages individuals to take the following steps:

• Visit the Equifax website for daily status updates, here: https://www.equifax.com/;

• Click on the “Potential Impact” tab to find out if personal information was exposed;

• Call the Equifax call center at (866) 447-7559 from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern time;

• Check credit reports;

• Consider placing a freeze on all credit files;

• Closely monitor existing credit card and bank account information and watch for unauthorized charges;

•  Watch for phishing email that claim to be Equifax and request personal information.

Additionally, Equifax has updated the terms of use on its website, removing the language on the website last week that prohibited consumers from taking legal action in this incident.