[Hidden-tech] Experian Hack

[Chris Hoogendyk]

Someone applied for my Social Security benefits. Because the mailing address and email were 
different than what's on my account, SSA sent me a paper letter. I called them and had it referred 
to their fraud unit. You should sign up for your online Social Security account, put a good password 
on it, and require a second level of security. You can also lock online access to your Social 
Security by calling them. You will then have to go in to a physical office in person to do anything 
with SSA.

The latest SANS @RISK Security Alert had a link to this article about the Equifax hack in the New 
York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/business/equifax.html, which has some decent 
information.

Also, if you Google "equifax site:krebsonsecurity.com", there are blog posts by Brian Krebs about 
freezing your credit (a 2015 post) and aspects of how to deal with the hack fallout (a few posts 
from 2017). There is also some pretty good background on the credit bureaus. There are notes on what 
the typical credit watch services do and do not provide and what else you might have to watch out 
for. Still a lot of sifting and reading. Krebs has posted on aspects of Equfax, security, and 
credit, many times over the last couple of years. One totally freaky thing was the discovery that 
the Argentine office of Equifax had an online administrative interface that was accessible with the 
username Admin and the password Admin! Total incompetence! They took it completely offline when 
Krebs called them on it.


On 9/15/17 8:53 AM, Rob Laporte wrote:
> Hi HTers,
>
> My credit and bank cards are among the 143 million victims of Experian’s hack. Some cards record 
> little transactions, even a refund or two, before big attempts. That pattern is aimed at defeating 
> the algorithms that detect fraud. I advise looking over your transaction history in detail.
>
> I wonder how many people are left after removing children, old age home people, prisoners, and 
> others in the US without credit cards. I’m guessing not many more than 143 million. That means 
> pretty much all of us are victims. With our SS’s also taken, God knows how many months and years 
> our risks persist. Or maybe God and one of you know.
>
> I see a big opportunity for a consultant in our area to help people with preventative security and 
> notification services. I’d buy that.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> *Rob Laporte*
> Founder & Managing Partner
> *DISC, Inc. - "Making Web Sites Make Money"*
> 413-584-6500
> Rob at 2disc.com <mailto:Rob at 2disc.com>
> www.linkedin.com/in/2disc <http://www.linkedin.com/in/2disc>
> www.2disc.com <http://www.2disc.com>
>
> *NOTE:*Emails can be blocked by spam filters throughout the web. If you don’t get a reply within 
> an expected span of time, please call.
>

-- 
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Chris Hoogendyk

-
    O__  ---- Systems Administrator
   c/ /'_ --- Biology & Geosciences Departments
  (*) \(*) -- 315 Morrill Science Center
~~~~~~~~~~ - University of Massachusetts, Amherst

<hoogendyk at bio.umass.edu>

---------------

Erdös 4

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