What’s New!
Credit Union News
7/29/19
Equifax Settlement
In 2017 we provided a summary of the Equifax data breach that occurred on September 7, 2017. Click here to view that original post.
Now, Equifax has reached a settlement regarding this data breach. Equifax has provided a website dedicated to their settlement. Click here to view their website.
Within their website you can find out if your information was impacted, view claim options and file a claim as well as review what your legal rights and options are, and more.
Please note: MCWV cannot advise members either way as to whether you should or should not file a claim for the 2017 Equifax data breach. Please use all information available to you to research the decision that is best for you.
As always, we highly recommend that you continue to regularly monitor your credit union accounts and utilize our free comprehensive credit score program Credit Sense which includes free credit monitoring.
If you have any questions regarding how to best monitor your accounts or how to utilize Credit Sense, call us anytime at (304) 346-5242 or Toll Free (800) 526-5242.
Equifax Breach: What You Need to Know
Breach Details
On September 7, 2017, Equifax, one of the three major consumer reporting agencies, announced a breach impacting an estimated 143 million U.S. consumers from mid-May through July 2017. The information accessed includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases drivers’ license numbers. Credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 U.S. consumers were also accessed.
What should you do now?
Equifax established a dedicated website for consumers to determine if their personal information was impacted, and to sign up for credit file monitoring and ID theft protection. We encourage you to visit this dedicated Equifax website to determine if your information was accessed.
Please also consider additional options you have available to you:
- If you do not intend on accessing your credit, you may place a credit freeze to prevent potentially fraudulent accounts from being open in your name.
- Request and review your credit report from the three major consumer reporting agencies annually. You may do so by visiting Annual Credit Report.com.
- Closely monitor your deposit and credit accounts for suspicious or fraudulent activity with our NTouch24 Online Banking and MCWV App.
- If you have used your Social Security number as a username or password, or as a means to reset a password, please log on to the related site or application. If your login fails, or you log on and notice unauthorized activity, contact a customer service representative. Finally, reset your username and/or password.
- Be aware of increased phishing attempts. You may even receive e-mails that appear to come from Equifax, but are in fact phishing e-mails. Please be cautious when opening e-mails and attachments from senders you are not familiar with.
What does this mean for your credit union account?
Consumer information put at risk by the Equifax breach is separate from your credit union data, but we want to help you protect both. We will remain ever-vigilant in securing your credit union data, and we encourage you to use free products we offer in order to monitor your credit union accounts. Use our NTouch24 Online Banking and MCWV App to monitor your accounts 24/7. Please report any suspicious activity to us by calling (304) 346-5242 or Toll Free (800) 526-5242.
