Important Message on Credit Hack from 101 Financial's Alan Akina

21 Sept 2017 · 2 min

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2:01

In this video, Alan Akina warns viewers about the massive Equifax data breach and urges them to take immediate protective actions. He first directs them to the Equifax security site (identity2017.com) to check whether their personal information was affected by entering their last name and the last six digits of their Social Security number. Regardless of the result, he strongly recommends placing a credit freeze on all three major credit bureaus—Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. He explains that a credit freeze locks the credit report, requiring a personal PIN to lift the freeze, thereby preventing fraudsters from opening new accounts even if they have the victim’s SSN. He notes that a freeze does not affect existing accounts. Akina provides practical steps: visit each bureau’s credit‑freeze page, and mentions that while Equifax’s freeze is free, Experian and TransUnion each charge about $5. He concludes by hoping the advice helps viewers sleep better at night.

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Good morning, everyone. I have a very important question for you. Do you know if your personal financial information was compromised? And with the recent announcement of the mega security breach by one of the big 3 credit bureaus, Equifax, now this security breach could go down as one of the worst of all time hacks. Now I've been getting a lot of questions from people about what they should know and what they should do. So here are 2 things that you need to do today. First, go to Equifax Security. identity2017.com and click on the tab Check Potential Impact. Now you'll be asked to enter your last name and last 6 digits of your Social Security number. Equifax will give you a determination at that point. Now if your personal account has been compromised or if it's not, I still suggest that you do the following: a credit freeze. I strongly suggest that you put a credit freeze on your account at all 3 of the credit bureaus. Now what is a credit freeze? A credit freeze allows you to lock A credit freeze will lock up your credit report and have you become the only one that can access your credit via a PIN number that only you know. Now what this does is adds another layer of protection if someone tries to open up a new credit card, loan, or mortgage in your name. Now even if they have your Social Security number and your personal information, they would still need the PIN to obtain credit. Now a freeze will have no impact on your existing credit accounts and you can continue to use them the same way you have been. To set up a credit freeze, I suggest that you go to Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian and click on the credit freeze tab. Now, I did this for each of my 3 accounts. Equifax was free, but Experian and TransUnion charged around $5. I hope this helps you to sleep better at night. For Take Two, I'm Alan Akina. Here's to your money.