In general, the data being asked about in these KBA quizzes is culled from public records, meaning that this information likely is publicly available in some form - either digitally or in-person. It then asked a series of four security questions - so-called “knowledge-based authentication” or KBA questions designed to see if I could recall bits about my recent financial history. MyEquifax said it couldn’t verify that my email address belonged to the Brian Krebs at that SSN and DOB.
This has been the reality for years, and was so well before Equifax announced its big 2017 breach. SSN and DOB data is widely available for sale in the cybercrime underground on almost all U.S. The next page asked me enter my SSN and date of birth, and to share a phone number (sharing was optional, so I didn’t). I chose an old email address that I knew wasn’t directly tied to my real-life identity. The portal asked me for an email address and suggested a longish, randomized password, which I accepted. Seeking to manage my own credit freeze at as I’d done in years past, I was steered toward creating an account at, which I was shocked to find I did not previously possess. But Equifax has changed a few things since then.
In the wake of Equifax’s epic 2017 data breach impacting some 148 million Americans, many people did freeze their credit files at the big three in response. A freeze makes it much harder for identity thieves to open new lines of credit in your name.
#Equifax security ze temporarily lift for free
state can now freeze their credit files for free with Equifax and two other major bureaus ( Trans Union and Experian). Unfortunately, if you don’t already have an account at the credit bureau’s new myEquifax portal, it may be simple for identity thieves to lift an existing credit freeze at Equifax and bypass the PIN armed with little more than your, name, Social Security number and birthday.Ĭonsumers in every U.S. Most people who have frozen their credit files with Equifax have been issued a numeric Personal Identification Number (PIN) which is supposed to be required before a freeze can be lifted or thawed.
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