Dear Bank of Montana Family and Friends,
If you are not already aware, Equifax announced on September 7, 2017 a cybersecurity breach to their system. This breach has the potential to impact a reported 143 million U.S. consumers. Hackers obtained Social Security Numbers, driver’s license numbers, names, addresses, birth dates, credit card numbers, and other personal information.
Are you one of the 143 million consumers affected by this? Most likely. If you have a credit report (credit card, mortgage, car loan, student loan, etc.), there is a good chance you are one of the 143 million consumers.
Here are the 3 steps we recommend you take as soon as possible:
- Sign up for a credit monitoring service of your choice.
- Freeze your credit.
- TransUnion
- Online: http://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/credit-disputes/credit-freezes.page
- By phone: 1-888-909-8872 (Enter ZIP code then follow prompts for security freeze placement/removal).
- Equifax
- Online: https://www.freeze.equifax.com
- By Phone: 1-888- 298-0045 between the hours of 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the consumer’s time zone.
- Experian
- Online: www.experian.com/freeze
- By Phone: 1-888-397-3742 (Press 2 then follow prompts for security freeze placement/removal).
- TransUnion
- Monitor your bank accounts and credit cards.
You can also monitor your credit by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com to pull a free credit report ever year.
If you do freeze your credit, you will need to remember to unfreeze it for period of time to allow your credit to be pulled when applying for a loan, credit card, etc.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me or anyone else at Bank of Montana at 406-829-2662.
Sincerely,
Emilie Quade
Chief Operations Officer and Information Security Officer
All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. Please consult an attorney in your own jurisdiction if you need legal advice. The information on this site is just meant to be a guide.