Update: 3/1/2018: Equifax announces that an additional 2.4 million Americans were affected by last year's data breach, bringing the total number of people impacted by the breach up to approximately 147.9 million.
The company claims that the additional people affected by the data breach only had their names and a partial driver's license number stolen by hackers. Previous consumers affected had their Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, tax ID numbers, and other highly sensitive data exposed.
Update 2/9/2018: The Equifax data breach may have exposed even more sensitive data than previously reported, according to Fortune.
Tax identification numbers, driver’s license issuance dates and states, and email addresses were acquired by hackers, according to the new report. This leaked information is in addition to the Social Security numbers, addresses, driver’s licenses, credit card numbers, and the other sensitive data previously reported.
Tax identification numbers, in particular, could have serious consequences for victims of the data breach, as it increases the risk of fraudulent tax filings.
Update 9/26/2017: Equifax CEO Richard Smith announced his retirement "effective immediately," just weeks after the company revealed a massive data breach that gave hackers access to the sensitive information of 143 million consumers, according to NPR.
The Equifax data breach is said to affect as many as 143 million Americans, and attorney John Yanchunis of ClassAction.com and Morgan & Morgan is at the front lines in a fight to hold the company accountable for exposing such sensitive data as people’s names, addresses and Social Security numbers and credit card information.
On Thursday, Sept. 7 Yanchunis filed a class action against credit bureau Equifax, following the company’s announcement last week that its servers were breached in July.
The lawsuit accuses the company of failing to adequately protect its database of consumer information, allowing criminals to obtain the personal and financial information of hundreds of millions of Americans.
The lawsuit accuses the company of failing to adequately protect its database of consumer information, allowing criminals to obtain the personal and financial information of hundreds of millions of Americans. The suit also alleges that Equifax failed to inform consumers in a timely manner after discovering the breach.
Yanchunis, who has handled a number of high-profile data breach cases — including the class action against Target after the company’s 2013 breach — called the Equifax data breach “shocking.”
"Equifax contains one of the largest databases of consumer information and they should have been better prepared for any attempt to penetrate its systems," Yanchunis said in a press release.
If you suffered financial damages due to the recent Equifax data breach, our attorneys may be able to help. Fill out this form on our page to learn if you could be eligible to participate in a class action lawsuit today. Check back to this page for more updates on the growing Equifax data breach crisis.
The Equifax Data Breach: What You Need to Know
The Equifax data breach compromised sensitive financial and personal information — including addresses, credit cards, driver's licenses, and Social Security numbers — of 143 million Americans.
The breach occurred over the summer between Mid-May and July, according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Although Equifax discovered the breach on July 29, the company failed to inform the public until just last week.
Now, consumers are in a scramble to secure their data, file credit reports, and freeze their credit in case their data was compromised in the breach.
But what makes this particular data breach so bad — especially when compared to other recent breaches like the Anthem data breach or the leak of over 1 billion Yahoo accounts between 2013 and 2014?
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Data Breaches Are Happening More and More: What You Can Do
If it seems like you’ve been reading more and more about data breaches in recent months, it’s not your imagination: 2016 was a record year for data breaches. There were over 1,000 breaches last year, a 50 percent increase from 2015 according to Identity Theft Resource Center.
The rate of incidents shows no signs of slowing down in 2017. In fact, based on the number of data breaches in the first half of the year, this year is on track to surpass 2016’s record with an estimated 1,500 data breaches by end of year, according to the ITRC. Saks Fifth Avenue, GameStop, HealthNow Networks, Chipotle, and Verizon are just a handful of the major companies implicated in data breaches this year alone.
So what can consumers like you do to stay safe? The FTC recommends the following steps for protecting yourself following a data breach:
- Check your credit report by visiting annualcreditreport.com. According to federal law, you are allowed to get a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each credit reporting company.
- Consider placing a credit freeze on your file with each bureau, making it harder for a hacker to potentially open a new account in your name. Alternatively, place a fraud alert on your files, which warns creditors that they should verify if anyone seeking credit in your name is actually you.
- Monitor your existing accounts closely for fraudulent charges.
Were You Impacted by the Equifax Data Breach?
If you suffered financial damages due to the recent Equifax data breach, our attorneys may be able to help. Fill out the form on our page to learn if you could be eligible to participate in a class action lawsuit today. You may be entitled to compensation.
Check back to this page for more updates on the growing Equifax data breach crisis.