ReclaimMyID

By now you sure are aware of the massive data breach Equifax suffered in 2017. Since word broke about this incident, some numbers have been estimated regarding the scale of those affected. We’ve never been given the full report, until now. In a filing detail to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), Equifax released the entirety of the numbers regarding their data breach. The full impact of the Equifax data breach is astounding, as more than half of the American population had some their sensitive information stolen.

Breaking Down The Numbers

What makes the Equifax breach so terrifying is due to the types of information that was stolen. Names, Social Security numbers, addresses and driver’s license numbers are just a few of the things that were widely stolen during the breach.

Name	146.6 Million
Birthdate	146.6 Million
Social Security #	146.5 Million
Address	99 Million
Gender	27.3 Million
Phone #	20.3 Million
Driver’s License #	17.6 Million
E-mail Address	1.8 Million
Credit Card Information	209,000
Tax ID	97,500

As you can see, this is a huge amount of highly confidential information that was compromised. This is information that can be used by criminals which can damage your good standing.

Not only information was stolen, it also involved images which were uploaded to Equifax’s website.

Driver’s License	38,000
Social Security/Tax Payer ID	12,000
Passport	3,200
Miscellaneous	3,000

These images can be used by criminals to escape the country and create synthetic identities among other nefarious activities.

What Can You Do?

You can place a credit freeze/hold on your file through one of the major credit bureaus. This will create an extra hurdle for criminals when trying to use your information.
You can sign up for an identity theft restoration service, such as ReclaimMyID, which will fully restore your identity should it be stolen.

The full impact of the Equifax data breach is yet to be seen. Odds are that your information has been obtained by criminals, so you must protect yourself. Also, use this as an opportunity to become more familiar with identity theft and how to protect your information.