How to protect yourself from the Equifax Data Breach

Equifax, one of three major credit bureaus, had their servers broken into and the personal data for over 143 million Americans was stolen. That means the chances that you were affected are pretty high. So how do you protect yourself from one of the worst data breaches ever?

The good news is there are several things that you can do right now:

1- Check your bank account and credit card statements regularly for any transactions that look suspicious.

2- Check your credit report at Annualcreditreport.com. If you find anything inaccurate, report it immediately.

3- Take inventory of all the online services you subscribe to and what accounts they are connected to. Update your passwords for these services.

4- Freeze your credit. When you do this, you will be required to unfreeze your credit to apply for new loans and open new credit cards.

To freeze your credit, contact each of the credit bureaus:

  • Equifax: 1-800-349-9960
  • Experian: 1‑888‑397‑3742
  • TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872

Please note there may be a small fee attached to freezing your credit with each bureau.

5 - Consider a secure checking account. Many banks offer secure checking as a service, including the Pinnacle Bank Diamond Secure Account.

Typical benefits include high levels of identity theft expense reimbursement, fully managed identity theft resolution services and credit monitoring.

Let Pinnacle Bank Help You Protect Your Identity

If you’d like to know more about how a Pinnacle Bank Diamond Secure Account can help protect you from identity theft from the Equifax Data breach and future data breaches, click here to learn more.