On September 7, 2017 Equifax Inc. announced a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting approximately 143 million U.S. consumers. Criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files. Based on the company’s investigation, the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017. Click
here to read more on the incident and to keep yourself up to date.
The FTC also recommends taking these steps:
• Check your credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, the FTC advises on its website. You can do this for free by visiting annualcreditreport.com. Look for accounts or activity that you don’t recognize. It could indicate identity theft.
• Consider placing a fraud alert on your files (see section above). A fraud alert warns creditors that you may be a victim of identity theft. Creditors are required to make a reasonable effort to verify that anyone seeking credit in your name is, in fact, you.
• Consider placing a credit freeze on your credit files. A credit freeze means potential creditors cannot access your credit report. This makes it less likely an identity thief can open new accounts in your name.
• Monitor your existing credit card and bank accounts. Watch for charges you don’t recognize.
The FTC offers other tips for protecting yourself after a data breach on its website.
What everyone can learn from this:
Thieves are taking extraordinary steps to get personal and confidential information. At TMC, we recommend everyone plan ahead, as the old adage goes "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"
If your a business – review the PCI DSS standards. Are you complaint with all the steps? Have you reviewed the rules with all your employees? Businesses are held fiscally responsible when card breaches are linked to the improper storage or use and the fines are so heavy that some businesses do not make it through a breach- compliance has never been more important!
Please call TMC if you have any questions regarding PCI DSS compliance. We have the relationships with real experts to guide you and your business through the mine field of fraud prevention.
