How to protect your personal data for free

Four months ago, the credit bureau Equifax stated that the personal data of 143 million Americans stored on the company's servers, were stolen as a result of a hacker attack. You can save data from such attacks if you use protection, which the company offers at various levels.

Фото: Depositphotos

After theft Equifax decided to provide some of its data protection services for free, but the term of the promotion is very short, and the opportunity to receive data protection for free is open only until the end of January, writes Money Talks News.

Freeze free loan

Credit freezing is considered the best way to protect personal financial data. This process is governed by state law, so the account owner is not responsible for losses or losses if the freezing process was conducted with errors.

January 31 is the last day when Equifax allows you to subscribe to this service for free. After that day, you will have to pay Equifax for it the amount set as a payment for the freeze service in your state.

This is a great chance to use this security service, especially if you suspect that your data has been stolen as a result of a hacker attack Equifax. If you do not know if your data or personal information of other members of your family has been affected, you can check it on the website. Equifax Cyber ​​incident.

If your data has been stolen, it is worth freezing loans in all three major credit bureaus, and not only in Equifax. To do this, you must contact each of these companies and follow the protocol of freezing data from them.

Please note that the other two companies are Experian and TransUnion — may charge you a fee for freezing your credit. The fee varies by state, but the FTC says it's typically between $5 and $10.

The freeze will be valid for as long as you wish, in order to cancel it the client must contact the company with this request. In some states, the freezing period expires after seven years.

Free TrustedID Premier

January 31 is the last day of free subscription to TrustedID Premier for one year. Equifax started offering a service TrustedID Premier after a hacker attack, the company calls this service “reliable protection against hacking and viruses”. To register for this service, please visit Cyber ​​incident.

Keep in mind that registration will not harm you, but it will not save you from identity theft, as is the case with a freezing of a loan. TrustedID Premier does not prevent the theft of your data, but notifies you about it. The poor quality of this credit monitoring service is that it reports transactions after they have already occurred, and not before that, that is, there is practically no chance to prevent the theft.

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