FrankN wrote:
I am planning on getting credit monitoring services, but will not use Equifax because I plan to pursue action against them.

Have you found a reputable company? I've been checking around, but it's hard to separate facts from hype. I've looked at LifeLock, but after reading the small print I'm giving it a pass. The commercials brag that if you're a client, they'll spend up to $1 million dollars to "hire lawyers, investigators, consultants and whatever else it takes to restore your name and help you recover the direct losses from the identity theft." Which sounds fantastic; however, there are so many exclusions and got'chas that it's pretty useless. They seem to have encryption problems too, and have been in trouble with the FTC more than once .

I bet they won't be punished at all. They'll pay a fine and maybe some will get fired, but they'll exit with a golden parachute in place. There will certainly be no jail time and no additional regulations will be put in place. Our politicians are all bought and paid for. We've seen this type of pathology play out time and time again.

This is a ridiculous situation. The fact that they can't say if the information was encrypted (seriously?), the fact that the executives claim they knew nothing of the breach before banking hundreds of thousands of dollars is too far-fetched. I'm with Joker and kind of hope they crash and burn as a result. It would serve them right and hopefully put the other two on notice in case their measures aren't up to snuff.

I was also potentially impacted by the breach as well. I have been doing a little research this weekend, and below are a few articles I found helpful.

I am planning on getting credit monitoring services, but will not use Equifax because I plan to pursue action against them.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-how-to-freeze-your-credit-equifax-20170911-story.html

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/11/technology/equifax-identity-theft/index.html

It wouldn't surprise me a bit to see Equifax go down in flames because of this. They are going to have to change the management, get different employees, and prove themselves before anyone will ever trust them again. Can't believe they knew so long before they ever said anything. Terrible!

All true and valid points Wanderer. Which what makes the issue with Equifax, and how they are handling it, all the more troublesome.

People need to find a good credit-to-cash balance in their lives. If we do, we won't be a tightly tied to the credit reporting agencies as we are now.

There is a place for credit along with cash in our world today. Some employers require a credit score to hire employees, some insurance companies require a credit score to obtain insurance and set the rates based on the credit score not the actual loss experience. Many people could not obtain home loans if they did not have a credit score. So, whether we agree with all the happenings with Equifax or any one else, the world today revolves around our credit rating. As an aside, I do not agree with some of this but, like many things in life my opinion and a dime won't place a phone call on a pay phone (oh ... forgot they are few and far between). In my life time I remember when cash and checks were king but that time is long gone and we need to recognize what is required today. To go on, because someone has access to credit does not mean they do not know how to handle it or will go into debt. As for myself, I place purchases on credit and pay the lender before the bill cuts and reports zero to the credit bureau. It is much simpler than paying cash for a car rental (which likely they won't do) or trying to purchase an airplane ticket with cash on the internet. Now many gas station that are closed but offer 24 hour service only take credit or debit card for after hour purchases and I could go on. The world dragged me into the technology world after I got nailed for a huge cash deposit to rent a car and then they decided to not take the cash as it wasn't enough to cover potential losses so I switched to the modern world. The idea we can live in a cash society would not fit most people today.

A couple of things. First, if your credit score is 200, what exactly do you have to worry about?

Second, the first thing I thought about when I saw this topic was Dave Ramsey. He told his audience one time that he has had a credit score of 0 for 20 years. Whatever it is that he buys, he pay cash. You don't need credit or a credit score when you pay for everything in cash. Your credit score does not determine your wealth. It determines how easy it is to get a higher credit limit so you can be more in debt.

I know, few of us are in a situation where we can pay for everything in cash (bank debit is the same thing), but for most of us it shouldn't take over 10 years to get ourselves there.This story, to me at least, just underscores the importance of doing just that.

Yes here is a quote from the terms of service:

"You will be forfeiting Your right to bring or participate in any class action (whether as a named plaintiff or a class member) or to share in any class action awards, including class claims where a class has not yet been certified, even if the facts and circumstances upon which the Claims are based already occurred or existed."

Please read their legal ease before signing up and look for this legal language. It is a personal decision and I can say that two people already engaged two very large law firms with an aggressive winning track record to take on Equifax through a Class Action Law Suit. The amount proposed for damages would be sufficient to bury the corporation (Equifax). Since my own experience and from reading elsewhere on the internet they have been difficult to deal with I would like to see them pay for their actions. Questions exist on whether the data was encrypted and why were they using older software (note this information has been circulated but not verified). The real frosting on the cake is that now it is said that Equifax knew they had problems back to May 2017 and their top executives sold stock before we even knew about the situation. Makes me sleep well at night?

Additional information taken from the source Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY Published 5:17 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 2017 | Updated 3:12 p.m. ET Sept. 8, 2017: "Filed in Oregon federal court late Thursday, the civil action accuses the Georgia-based company of failing to maintain adequate electronic security safeguards as part of a corporate effort to save money. The lawsuit on behalf of plaintiffs Mary McHill and Brook Reinhard seeks an order requiring Equifax to preserve all records related to the breach and formally designating the case as a class-action for all consumers affected by the cyberattack."

"On Aug. 1, Chief Financial Officer John Gamble sold shares with a market value of nearly $946,400, while Joseph Loughran, president of Equifax's U.S. Information Solutions, exercised options to sell nearly $584,100. Rodolfo Ploder, president of business unit Workforce Solutions, sold shares valued at nearly $250,500 on Aug. 2, the filings show. The three executives continued to hold tens of thousands of Equifax shares after the transactions. Equifax said the officials "had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred" at the time they sold their shares."

Wanderer, thank you for bringing this up and for sharing the bit about waving your right to a class action lawsuit if you use their premium product. That's just laughable to me, but of course the jerks are only thinking about themselves. The long term potential harm that this breach will have on innocent people is staggering.

Yep, Wanderer, you are absolutely correct. These guys need to have a little "alone time in jail" if you asked me as well. Just think, aren't these the people that are supposed to be looking out for our personal information being used fraudulently? What a crock of crap (pardon my French, ha, ha), that is the fox watching the hen house sort of. I'm sure you know what I mean. It is just ridiculous and makes me not trust that industry even more.

Looks like I am in the same boat as many others - my personal information may have been impacted. Has anyone gone through with enrolling in TrustedID Premier?

I was compromised. You can check to see if your personal information was likely leaked in the breach at https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/potential-impact/

This topic covers questions that are related to the breach announcement at Equifax.

More information https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/

NOTICE: Equifax has experienced a data breach (May 2017) which they waited over a month to tell us about. Estimated records potentially affected equates to 143,000,000 which must be about half the United States population. Questions exist on whether the data was encrypted. They are offering an Equifax Premium Product to serve as a watch dog for one year (it was noted that those who sign up waive off the right to take part in a class action suit - NOTE: this information is contained in their sign up terms and conditions). Nothing is safe in the online world today. As an insult and an aside, key executives sold Equifax Stock after the data breach ... isn't that nice - time for them to find jail (my view anyways).