CONCORD, NH – Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald has announced that his office has been given notice by Equifax, Inc. of a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting the sensitive information of approximately 622,558 New Hampshire residents. [See attached security breach notice.]
Nationally, 143 million U.S. consumers may have had their personal information compromised. Equifax’s computerized data files were compromised between mid-May and July, 2017. The information accessed through this breach included names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. In addition, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 U.S. consumers, and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 consumers, were accessed.
⇒Equifax has established a dedicated website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com. Once on that website, you can determine if your information was exposed.
Click on the “Potential Impact” tab and enter your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number. Your Social Security number is sensitive information, so make sure you’re on a secure computer and an encrypted network connection any time you enter it. The site will tell you if you’ve been affected by this breach. But before taking further action, research your rights, should a class-action suit come into play.
Affected U.S. consumers can get a year of free credit monitoring and other services. The site will give you a date when you can come back to enroll. Write down the date and come back to the site and click “Enroll” on that date. You have until November 21, 2017 to enroll.
You also can access frequently asked questions at the site. Equifax has established a dedicated call center and can be reached at 866-447-7559. The call center is open every day (including weekends) from 7 a.m. – 1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
The Attorney General’s Office will be looking further into the facts and circumstances of this security breach. All security breach notices required to be filed with the Attorney General are available at the DOJ website: https://www.doj.nh.gov/consumer/security-breaches/index.htm. The Attorney General has a consumer information line – 888-468-4454. Consumers with questions about protecting their identity and other consumer protection questions are encouraged to call.