Credit monitoring is not enough. Freeze your credit reports. Unfreeze them temporarily or case by case if you apply for credit or a loan.
Apparently Experion is gouging people with this monthly subscription bullshit. Something like $25 a month. We had to call them to freeze it for $10.
Whelp, looks like I was affected -- somebody tried to spend over $300 at the Lloyd Center Sears yesterday with "my card" (that was still in my wallet in Albany) -- they got declined instantly on fraud protect so they went across the street to the Dollar Store and tried $30 worth of merchandise! Hopefully that's all that happens...
Hopefully? Geez man, call your CC and get the card number canceled. They will issue a new card with a new number just that easy. I have had to do that twice now, in the past three years.
No worries, I'm sure the person with his information has already done this. "Hey CC company? Yes, I just moved and need a new CC issued to my new address. Thank you."
...yeah I did that instantly the moment my bank alerted me of possible fraud. I also called Sear security team and let them know that somebody in the last few hours just tried to checkout with a fraudulent CC and was declined -- gave them exact dollar amount so they check the cameras and ban these criminals (or be on the look out at the very least)!
I don't think card theft is what you need to worry about. This leak is something that could lead to full on identity theft, IE they open a new credit card in your name. Or a bank loan. That kind of thing. Stealing your card number is really small potatoes compared to what someone can do with your SSN, your drivers license number, and other personally identifying info.
The monthly credit monitoring shit at all of the credit monitoring agencies is all about the same price and isn't the same thing as a freeze. It's on their website, you just have to do a little bit of digging, since they definitely don't advertise it. https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp https://freeze.transunion.com/sf/securityFreeze/landingPage.jsp
Equifax also was hacked in March, sources say http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2017/09/equifax_was_also_hacked_in_mar.html
There should be a way that consumers can opt out of having a company like equifax have our private information. They're not responsible with it.
Experian Site Can Give Anyone Your Credit Freeze PIN https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/09/experian-site-can-give-anyone-your-credit-freeze-pin/
Krebs on security https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/08/blowing-the-whistle-on-bad-attribution/ https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/01/the-download-on-the-dnc-hack/ Not to derail the thread, but Krebs is cited as authority.
"It makes a convincing case that the real, long-term goal of Russian state-sponsored hacking activity is to sow public and popular distrust in the democratic process and to weaken democratic institutions inside countries that support Nato" It seems they hooked every Democrat with one set line.
Based on what I’ve learned over the past decade studying Russian language, culture and hacking communities, my sense is that if the Russians were responsible and wanted to hide that fact — they’d have left a trail leading back to some other country’s door.
