Equifax, one of the big three credit monitoring companies,
has experienced one of the most shocking data breaches in U.S. history. The
breach has exposed the Social Security numbers, names, birth dates, addresses,
driver’s license numbers, and other sensitive information of approximately 143
million Americans. Although there have been larger breaches in the United
States, they typically do not involve Social Security numbers. The breach
eclipses a 2015 hack at health insurer Anthem that involved the Social Security
numbers of about 80 million people.
In addition to the personal information stolen in its
breach, Equifax said the credit card numbers for about 209,000 U.S. consumers
were also taken, as were "certain dispute documents" containing
personal information for approximately 182,000 individuals.
It is believed that the thieves accessed files between
mid-May and July of this year. Equifax discovered the hack July 29th,
but waited until September 7th to warn consumers. However, it is not
unusual for the government to ask a company hit in a major hack to delay public
notice so that investigators can pursue the perpetrators. It does sound as if three Equifax executives profited from this early knowledge by
selling shares worth a combined $1.8 million just a few days after the company
discovered the breach on July 29th, according to documents filed with
securities regulators.
The irony that Equifax, who is in charge of
securing our personal information and the company we go to when our identity
has been stolen, has had a major data breach has not gone unnoticed. As many as
50 lawsuits have been filed so far against the credit bureau.
Booth Samuels
and the attorneys at Pittman, Dutton & Hellums, P.C. are currently investigating
Equifax data breach cases. If you or someone you love has been a victim of this
data breach, please contact Booth Samuels at 1-866-515-8880 or by email at booths@pittmandutton.com
for a free consultation.
