INDIANAPOLIS -- Equifax is reporting an additional 100,000 Hoosiers were impacted by a major data breach, bringing the total to 3.9 million.
The new numbers released by the Indiana Attorney General’s office come on the heels of Equifax shutting down one its credit report assistance websites because of malicious code.
An Equifax spokesperson told Call 6 Investigates Friday, a third party vendor was collecting website performance data and the vendor’s code was serving malicious content.
“Since we learned of the issue, the vendor’s code was removed from the webpage and we have taken the webpage offline to conduct further analysis,” said Inez Gutzmer, spokesperson for Equifax. “Despite early media reports, Equifax can confirm that its systems were not compromised and that the reported issue did not affect our consumer online dispute portal.”
The page was reportedly directing people to a fake Adobe Flash installation that contained adware.
But now, the credit report assistance page is “down for maintenance.”
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill’s office is investigating the data breach.
In the meantime, customers have many options if they want to avoid using Equifax.
The AG’s office recommends a credit freeze which is free for Hoosiers.
You can also get a free credit report, per federal law, atannualcreditreport.com.
Another option is to place a fraud alerts on your accounts, so your creditors know you may be an identity theft victim.
You can also try other credit bureaus like Experian and TransUnion to sign up for credit monitoring services.
Equifax points out it has a dedicated website where you can sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection.
“The offering, called TrustedID Premier, includes 3-Bureau credit monitoring of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion credit reports; copies of Equifax credit reports; the ability to lock and unlock Equifax credit reports; identity theft insurance; and Internet scanning for Social Security numbers – all complimentary to U.S. consumers for one year,” said Marisa Salcines, senior director of public relations for Equifax. “The website also provides additional information on steps consumers can take to protect their personal information.”
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