Initially, it was announced that personal information belonging to 143 million U.S. consumers was exposed to hackers during the Equifax data breach. However, it later came out that an additional 2.5 million people were affected, including another 80,000 Michigan residents. This means that, in total, more than 4.6 million Michigan consumers were negatively impacted by the Equifax data breach. This prompted Michigan Attorney Bill Schuette and his team to update the original Equifax Breach Consumer Alert. In addition, the consumer protection team released a new alert entitled, “Credit Freeze; Fraud Alert; & Credit Monitoring.
About the updated alert and new alert, Schuette stated:
“The fallout from this breach continues to grow and my consumer protection team is diligently working to make sure Michigan residents know what to monitor as they move forward. It is important for individuals to determine if they are affected and I encourage anyone who believes their personal information has been compromised to file a complaint with my office.”
Hopefully, Michigan consumers affected by the Equifax data breach will find these alerts helpful and informative in a very scary time when identity theft seems almost inevitable.
The Information Contained in the Alerts Issued by the Michigan Attorney General in the Wake of the Equifax Data Breach
So far, 560 Michigan consumers have filed complaints with the Office of the Attorney General. It is likely that many more will follow, and for good reason. Michigan residents panicked about the fact that their Social Security numbers, birthdates, driver’s license information, and credit card numbers are now vulnerable.
In the new alert issued to Michigan residents, Schuette reminds previously unaffected consumers to recheck their status. Following the discovery of the additional people affected, Equifax didn’t update their website until October 8, 2017.
In addition to this reminder, the Michigan Attorney General answers several of the most frequently asked questions from affected consumers. For example, Michiganders want to know if they should freeze their credit with all three major credit bureaus. They are also curious about the difference between a security freeze and a credit lock. Finally, Schuette clears thing up for Michigan residents who want to make the most out of credit monitoring.
Speaking of credit monitoring, the Attorney General in Michigan wants consumers to know that Equifax extended its sign-up deadline for its credit monitoring offer. Michigan consumers now have until November 21, 2017 to sign up for one free year of Equifax’s Trusted ID Premier.
Another Way for Michigan Consumers to Protect Themselves Against Identity Theft in the Wake of the Equifax Data Breach
Even Michigan consumers who opt to freeze their credit should still check their credit reports after the Equifax data breach. It is helpful to take advantage of every security measure available, but nothing is foolproof. Right now, almost every adult in Michigan with a credit report on file with Equifax is extra vulnerable to identity theft.
So, in order to catch and report fraudulent items on any of your credit reports you should take advantage of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). This federal statute entitles all consumers to one free copy of their credit report from each of three major credit bureaus every twelve months. Just go to www.annualcreditreport.com to request your credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
If you do find fraudulent accounts or bogus transactions on any of your credit reports, file a police report. Next, call Credit Repair Lawyers of America in Michigan. Instead of handling the credit recovery yourself, an experienced credit attorney will fix your credit for free. We help victims of identity theft in Michigan every day. So, we know how to deal with creditors and the credit bureaus, and we can make the dispute process quick and hassle-free.
The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit
Don’t let fraudulent items or errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America in Michigan, we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? All of our fees come from the defendants in settled cases. This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (248) 353-2882 or contact us on our contact page.
For more information about Free Credit Repair After Identity Theft, please visit https://creditrepairlawyersam.com/michigan/id-theft-repairs/.
