AARP's Shumway to Appear on KGWN To Discuss Equifax Breach, Tuesday

Shumway to appear around 6:30 a.m. on Channel 5

Typing your last name and final six digits of your social security number into Equifax’s website is sort of like getting a sore tooth looked at by the dentist - you know you need to do it, but that bad news could lead to future pain. In this case less of a root canal and more identity theft.

Your call on which is more painful.

Tuesday morning, AARP Wyoming State Director Sam Shumway will be on the CBS 5 morning show in the Cheyenne market to explain AARP’s recommendations for protecting yourself after the Equifax data break. Shumway will appear around 6:30 a.m. opposite the morning show’s host, Kayla Dixon to talk Equifax.

To recap, Equifax is one of three major consumer credit-reporting agencies, with data on more than 820 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide. In early September, credit-reporting firm EquiFax revealed that hackers may have stolen financial and consumer data for at least 143 million customers in the US. Among the information which hackers may have had access to include: birthdates, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers and addresses.

Research shows that more than $20 billion was stolen from about 13 million victims in 2012, with older adults being scammed for around $3 billion each year. This makes fraud and scams a big deal to AARP at the national level and it has dedicated fraud watch team, to the effort. This group went into high gear around the Equifax data breach. The AARP Fraudwatch team came up with a list of recommendations for protecting your identity as the world waits to see the full damage done by the data breach. They include:

• Equifax has created a website (equifaxsecurity2017.com) where consumers can find out if their personal data has been compromised and is at risk.
• Consumers can also enroll for complimentary identity-theft protection and credit-file monitoring. The credit protection service is free for 12 months for consumers — not just breach victims — who sign up by Nov. 21.
• Equifax has also established a toll-free response line for additional questions at 866-447-7559.
• Check your credit report with the other two big credit  bureaus, TransUnion and Experian.
• Add a fraud alert to your credit report. This notifies lenders and creditors checking your credit report to take additional steps to verify your identification before extending credit in your name. To do this call one of the companies and ask for an initial fraud alert on yourcredit report.
• Check credit card and bank statements for unauthorized purchases or withdrawals.
• Consider an identity theft protection service. Remember, no service can protect you from having your personal information stolen. What these companies offer are monitoring and recovery services. Monitoring services watch for signs that an identity thief may be using your personal information. Recovery services help you deal with the effects of identity theft after it happens.

For more information on this issue or other scams, go to aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork , or call 1-877-908-3360.