We keep reminding you to freeze your credit. Why? Because at one point in time, your information was probably leaked online. Your social security number was released in a data breach or your email and other accounts were hacked. In 2017, there were 1,579 breaches; a record high. So, the odds your information was stolen are pretty high. So, FREEZE YOUR CREDIT!
Remember the Equifax breach? Equifax released information that an additional 2.4 million Americans were impacted by the data breach. That's on top of the 145.5 million.
Equifax claims these newly affected customers didn't have as much personal information stolen. This time, it was names, and partial Drivers License numbers, but not Social Security numbers. Either way, it's a breach. And you now may be part of it.
Equifax is going to contact each customer and offer the same credit monitoring services as they did before. But really, whether you're contacted or not, this kind of thing is going to happen again and again.
Everyone needs to freeze their credit. It's not hard or as scary as it sounds. Freezing your credit keeps anyone else from opening up credit in your name. This is your best and easiest protection. Freezing your credit still allows you to use your credit and freezing your credit is FREE in North Carolina.
It's most effective when you freeze your credit with each of the three credit bureaus.
READ: How to Do a Fraud Alert