Equifax
Closing the account does not close the file. Money-laundering and tax rules keep your identity and transaction records for years, and a permission to share your data wherever the law allows covers much of the rest. The holds set by statute are the ones no request can move.
Reported incidents
At least $575 million settlement over the 2017 breach of 147 million people
2019-07-22Affected ACIS dispute portal database
In July 2019 Equifax agreed to pay at least $575 million, and up to $700 million, to settle with the FTC, the CFPB and 50 US states and territories over its 2017 data breach. The breach exposed the names and dates of birth of about 147 million people, 145.5 million Social Security numbers and 209,000 payment card numbers. The FTC said Equifax failed to patch a known flaw in a database after a March 2017 alert, which let attackers stay in its network for months. The settlement paid for compensation and free credit reports, and free identity restoration runs until January 2029.
Social Security numbers of 147 million people taken through an unpatched flaw
2017-09-07Affected US online dispute portal built on Apache Struts
On 7 September 2017 Equifax announced that criminals had used a website application flaw to reach files between mid-May and July 2017. It first said about 143 million US consumers were affected; the FTC later put the total at about 147 million. Names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and some driver's licence numbers were taken, along with card numbers of about 209,000 people. Some UK and Canadian residents were also affected. The FTC said Equifax failed to patch a known Apache Struts flaw after an alert in March 2017. In July 2019 Equifax agreed a settlement with the FTC, CFPB and 50 states of at least 575 million dollars.
People affected typically ask Equifax to confirm whether their information was included, and which categories.
The verified route
DÆTRAX is a personal data accountability ledger: a dated record of which companies hold your personal data, what you asked them to do about it, and what they claimed in reply.