Protecting your Identity (in light of the Equifax breach)
I am sharing this post from Borrowell. Borrowell is similar to Credit Karma, in that it provides you with a free copy of your credit score. Both are great alternatives to paying for your score, providing you don’t mind getting some “offers” following sign-up for high-interest credit.
My advice: take advantage of the free service but NOT the offers. 🙂
You Can Now Monitor Your Credit Score More Often: Our Response To The Equifax Security Incident.
Last week, we sent an email informing our members of the Equifax security incident that affected 143 million Americans. Today, Equifax confirmed that the incident has affected approximately 100,000 Canadians consumers.
The information that was compromised included names, Social Insurance Numbers, and in some limited cases, credit card numbers. Equifax confirmed they will notify impacted Canadians by mail to offer free credit score monitoring and identity theft protection. You can find more information on the Equifax website.
How we’re helping you
We understand the Equifax incident has caused frustration and confusion for Canadians. Even though Borrowell was not involved, we’ll be updating your credit score more often as a response to the incident. Every month, we’ll notify you when your score is updated.
(Dr Debt Comment: Must be a subscriber of Borrowell, continue reading for other alternatives…)
More frequent credit score updates will help you better track changes to your score. It’s best practice to monitor your credit score often and our updated credit score tracking will notify you of changes each month.
What you can do
- Watch for your new monthly updated credit score email
We’ll email you when your credit score has been updated. You should monitor for anything suspicious – such as a significantly decreased score. As always, checking your score through Borrowell is a soft inquiry that won’t affect your credit score.
(Dr Debt Comment: You can sign up for credit monitoring with Borrowell, Credit Karma or the Credit Bureau’s – Equifax and Transunion – directly. If you have been affected by the breach, Equifax will give you one-year’s credit monitoring for free. There is a cost for TransUnion, Credit Karma, like Borrowell, is also free)
- Monitor your credit card statements and bank accounts
Your credit cards and bank accounts are also important to monitor. Keep an eye out for any transactions you did not authorize and report any issues to your bank or credit card company right away.
(Dr Debt Comment: Equifax has indicated in their report that they have notified any of your credit companies where a breach of information occurred.)
- Report any theft or crime
If you identify a concern that involves a theft or crime, report the incident to local police. You can report any suspicious activity to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Tell your bank and credit card companies, and close any accounts and cards that may have been compromised immediately.
At Borrowell, we believe in helping Canadians make great decisions about credit. As a 100% Canadian company, we’re particularly concerned with how this incident has affected Canadians. This means being as transparent and helpful as possible to better serve our members. We think offering free monthly credit score monitoring is the right thing to do in response to this incident.
We owe it to our members to help keep you well informed. We will share any further information on our blog or on our social media channels.
Sincerely,
Andrew Graham, Co-Founder and CEO.
(Dr Debt Comment: Thanks for this information Borrowell!)
Helping you have Happy, Healthy Finances!
Mary Ann Marriott,
aka Dr Debt
