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Equifax data breach

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Made public · 147,000,000 people in the U.S.

What leaked12

Replaceable

  • Card number
  • Card expiry date

Hard to replace

  • ID card image
  • Driver's licence number
  • Mobile number
  • Home or delivery address
  • Email address

Permanent

  • National ID or tax number
  • Social Security number
  • Date of birth
  • Full name
  • Gender
  • Card numberabout 209,000 people
  • ID card imageimages uploaded to the dispute portal by about 182,000 people, including about 38,000 driver's licences, 12,000 Social Security or taxpayer ID cards and 3,200 passports
  • National ID or tax numbertax ID; 97,500 people
  • Driver's licence numberin some instances; 17.6 million people · Equifax, 2018
  • Card expiry dateabout 209,000 people
  • Mobile numberphone number · type not stated; 20.3 million people
  • Email addresswithout credentials; 1.8 million people
  • Gender27.3 million people

To-dos12 · about 3 h in all

  1. Freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian and TransUnionabout 30 minfreeStops: credit in your name · Limits harm from: applications with your ID (opens in a new tab)
  2. Have the card reissued with a new numberabout 15 minStops: card fraud online
  3. Get an IRS Identity Protection PINabout 20 minStops: tax refund fraud (opens in a new tab)
  4. Turn on instant transaction alertsabout 5 minHelps you notice: card fraud online, bank account fraud, scam calls
  5. Place a fraud alert on your credit reportsabout 10 minfreeLimits harm from: credit in your name, applications with your ID (opens in a new tab)
7 more
  1. Do nowCheck your credit reports every week, freeabout 20 minfreeHelps you notice: credit in your name, applications with your ID (opens in a new tab)
  2. This weekKnow the scam pattern: calls and texts that cite these leaked detailsabout 5 minfreeLimits harm from: scam calls, phishing messages
  3. This weekTurn on your carrier's port-out lockabout 5 minLimits harm from: SIM swap
  4. This weekTurn on your carrier's SIM-change lockabout 5 minLimits harm from: SIM swap
  5. This weekFreeze your NCTUE phone and utility fileabout 10 minfreeLimits harm from: phone or utility account (opens in a new tab)
  6. This weekRemove your address and phone from public profiles and tighten SNS privacyabout 20 minfreeLimits harm from: visits or contact at home
  7. This weekUse an authenticator app or passkey instead of SMS codesabout 20 minfreeLimits harm from: SMS code theft

What happened next23 events

  1. Undetected 2 events77 days · show events
  2. Response 9 eventsNo individual notice on record · show events
  3. Remedy 5 eventsEnded · Back to latest
  4. Penalty 3 eventsFine $100M · show events
  5. Disputes 4 eventsSettled · show events

Remedy: 5 events

Back to latest
  1. Extended claims periodClosed
  2. Initial claims periodClosed
  3. Settlement offered four years of three-bureau credit monitoring through Experian, then six years of one-bureau monitoring through Equifax
  4. Approved settlement: up to 20,000 USD for documented out-of-pocket losses, plus capped pay for time spent; capped alternative cash (up to 125 USD) for those who already had credit monitoring
  5. Offered one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection (TrustedID Premier) to all U.S. consumers
Company
Equifax
When it happened
–
Company detected it
Made public
Notice
Leak confirmed
Affected
147,000,000 people in the U.S. · approx.; FTC; some UK and Canadian residents too

How the facts developed

  1. Equifax statement to Congress: counts per data element, including gender, phone numbers, email addresses and images of ID documents uploaded to the dispute portal
  2. First notice September 7, 2017: about 143 million U.S. consumers; names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, some driver's licence numbers, about 209,000 card numbers

Sources