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Equifax Extends Free Credit Monitoring -- But Outsources It To Experian (krebsonsecurity.com)
An anonymous reader quotes Krebs on Security:
A year after offering free credit monitoring to all Americans on account of its massive data breach that exposed the personal information of nearly 148 million people, Equifax now says it has chosen to extend the offer by turning to a credit monitoring service offered by a top competitor -- Experian. And to do that, it will soon be sharing with Experian contact information that affected consumers gave to Equifax in order to sign up for the service... Equifax says it will share the name, address, date of birth, Social Security number and self-provided phone number and email address with Experian for anyone who signed up for its original TrustedID Premier offering. That is, unless those folks affirmatively opt-out of having that information transferred from Equifax to Experian. But not to worry, Equifax says: Experian already has most of this data. "Experian currently has and is using this information (except phone number and email address) in the fulfillment of the Experian file monitoring which is part of your current service with TrustedID Premier," Equifax wrote in its email.
Krebs also points out the big problem with all credit monitoring services: "while they might let you know when someone has stolen your identity, they're not likely to prevent that from occurring in the first place." The best mechanism for preventing identity thieves from creating and abusing new accounts in your name is to freeze your credit file with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. This process is now free for all Americans, and simply blocks potential creditors from viewing your credit file. Since very few creditors are willing to grant new lines of credit without being able to determine how risky it is to do so, freezing your credit file with the Big Three is a great way to stop all sorts of ID theft shenanigans... All three big bureaus tout their credit lock services as an easier and faster alternative to freezes -- mainly because these alternatives aren't as disruptive to their bottom lines....
TransUnion and Equifax both offer free credit lock services, while Experian's is free for 30 days and $19.99 for each additional month. However, TransUnion says those who take advantage of their free lock service agree to receive targeted marketing offers. What's more, TransUnion also pushes consumers who sign up for its free lock service to subscribe to its "premium" lock services for a monthly fee with a perpetual auto-renewal. Unsurprisingly, the bureaus' use of the term credit lock has confused many consumers; this was almost certainly by design. But here's one basic fact consumers should keep in mind about these lock services: Unlike freezes, locks are not governed by any law, meaning that the credit bureaus can change the terms of these arrangements when and if it suits them to do so.
Krebs also points out the big problem with all credit monitoring services: "while they might let you know when someone has stolen your identity, they're not likely to prevent that from occurring in the first place." The best mechanism for preventing identity thieves from creating and abusing new accounts in your name is to freeze your credit file with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. This process is now free for all Americans, and simply blocks potential creditors from viewing your credit file. Since very few creditors are willing to grant new lines of credit without being able to determine how risky it is to do so, freezing your credit file with the Big Three is a great way to stop all sorts of ID theft shenanigans... All three big bureaus tout their credit lock services as an easier and faster alternative to freezes -- mainly because these alternatives aren't as disruptive to their bottom lines....
TransUnion and Equifax both offer free credit lock services, while Experian's is free for 30 days and $19.99 for each additional month. However, TransUnion says those who take advantage of their free lock service agree to receive targeted marketing offers. What's more, TransUnion also pushes consumers who sign up for its free lock service to subscribe to its "premium" lock services for a monthly fee with a perpetual auto-renewal. Unsurprisingly, the bureaus' use of the term credit lock has confused many consumers; this was almost certainly by design. But here's one basic fact consumers should keep in mind about these lock services: Unlike freezes, locks are not governed by any law, meaning that the credit bureaus can change the terms of these arrangements when and if it suits them to do so.
Everyone, listen to me, don't play the game.
Just freeze your credit at the big three and call it it good.
It is not a big deal to unfreeze for a period of time or unfreeze for a specific creditor.
These guys created a solution to a problem that consumers didn't ask for and now that it is a security disaster, they want you to pay them for protection and cleaning up their mess.
The credit reporting agencies have a track record of incompetence and apathy toward the people who have their identity stolen, (spoken from experience).
Freeze your credit, do it now. It takes about 20 minutes to do all three. Make sure you print all the screens, write down your PINS, and file them away safely.
Three businesses - Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion store the credit history of almost every credit transaction in the country. It is almost impossible to get credit without a report from them to the prospective lender and every one of those lenders forwards their history (balances, current payment amount, late payments,...) to them in exchange. The businesses will sell that data to anyone with the money, so many credit card companies periodically scan the data for prospective customers. In addition, since no real checking is done whether a prospective credit customer is really the person on whom the records are kept, thieves will take some semblance of identification to a lender and apply for credit, and the purported borrower is forced to expend considerable time and money to have that falsely issued credit removed. Locking the database is about the only way to prevent this, and, until THIS YEAR, the businesses were allowed to charge ridiculous fees to lock the records (the fees were charges to cover the loss of profits, and more, from selling the data).