Q: I just read your Q&A on the News about the Equifax hack. I was one of those people who had a frozen credit report in 2015, but when I went on Equifax’s web page, it said that my report had been compromised. I’m confused — my file was breached and frozen at the time.
—Patricia Yeargin, Lilburn
A: After the breach, Equifax sent an email to everyone belonging to their service explaining their account may have been compromised, an Equifax customer service representative told Q&A on the News.
The breach at Equifax uncovered 143 million Americans’ personal information; however, it was not a hack into Equifax’s credit report database. It was a hack into a personal information database, so your information could have been exposed even if your report was frozen, John Ulzheimer, a credit expert who has previously worked for both Equifax and FICO, told Q&A on the News.
Q: How can I find out if my specific information was part of the information hacked?
—Richard Criswell, Monroe
A: To find out if your information was comprised, visit equifaxsecurity2017.com or call Equifax's customer service dedicated to the breach at 888-548-7878.
To help protect your credit report, Clark.com recommends freezing your account with the major reporting bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
To place a security freeze, contact Equifax at 800-685-1111 or visit freeze.equifax.com. To freeze your report with the other credit bureaus, call TransUnion at 888-909-8872 and Experian at 888-397-3742, or visit transunion.com and experian.com.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column; Maggie Scruggs contributed. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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