BE AWARE OF YOUR OPTIONS BEFORE AGREEING TO SERVICES
Last week, the well-known credit reporting agency, Equifax, announced a data breach affecting as many as 143 million people between May and July 2017.
Personal information at risk includes names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers and in some cases credit card account numbers. Equifax has offered to help those who are victims of this data breach but this assistance may come with strings attached, and you may be giving up some of your rights to sue.
Before you accept these services, know what you are agreeing to.
As part of their assistance, Equifax is including credit file monitoring services as well as free identify theft protection. Be aware: If you are part of the data breach and participate in the credit monitoring services, you may also be agreeing to waive your right to a class action lawsuit, and are restricting any claim to be tried in arbitration. After enrolling in this monitoring service, you may want to consider “Opting-Out” by notifying Equifax in writing within 30 days to get out of the arbitration requirement.
It is important to know how to protect your information from being further comprised.
For additional information, refer to the Federal Trade Commission website for a list of actions you can take to protect yourself after a data breach.