The 2017 Equifax breach exposed millions of people to identity theft. Victim Brenda Henry shares her story while security expert Robert Siciliano recommends freezing your credit. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed suit over the breach.
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But first, here's Boston 25 News reporter Ted Daniel.
Vanessa, the Equifax data breach has left millions of identities at risk. How bad can it get if your credit is stolen? One woman's story and the one way to make sure you're protected when we come back.
New tonight, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed a lawsuit against credit reporting agency Equifax today, saying the company was aware of security vulnerabilities and failed to prevent a massive data breach.
The Equifax disaster has a lot of people concerned about identity theft. Tonight, our Ted Daniel Daniel spoke with a woman who only recently learned her information had been stolen and said she's facing some serious problems.
This is a single mother of 3 from Mattapan, Vanessa Blair. She needs her credit to be intact because she's looking for a new apartment. Credit is something landlords often check. Unfortunately, her credit is now in serious jeopardy. She says somebody got a hold of her Social Security number and went to town.
When mail from Digital Federal Credit Union first arrived at Brenda Henry's Mattapan home, she says she didn't pay much didn't pay much attention because DCU is not her bank. Weeks later, she couldn't ignore the envelope with all of this.
I feel like it's just the beginning of— I don't know how.
Brenda says someone opened up a checking and savings account using her name and Social Security number. 14 fraudulent checks have been cashed on the account, leaving a negative balance of $14,325. $25.67.
When I've actually called the bank and they told me someone walked in and started this account, I'm like, did they look like me? Um, is it a person who knows me? Like, now that feels— I feel so violated.
An estimated 15 million people in the U.S. are impacted by identity theft every year, and the Equifax breach exposes 143 million potential new victims.
It is inevitable that, uh, individuals' identities are going to be stolen as a result of the Equifax breach.
Robert Siciliano is a personal security expert with Hotspot Shield. He says the only way to ensure no one accesses your credit but you is to order a credit freeze. It takes time and a little bit of money, but he believes the peace of mind is worth it.
A credit freeze locks down your credit report so that nobody can open up any new lines of credit without your authorization.
Brenda Henry says she has no idea how her information got out. A spokesperson for Digital Federal Credit Union tells us that they take fraud very seriously, and the bank's fraud department is now investigating. They say they want to help Brenda Henry any way they can. Live in our newsroom, Ted Daniel, Boston 25 News.
