Equifax is one of the three credit reporting bureaus. It recently reported a security breach that has allowed the personal information of nearly half of America to be stolen. This information can allow someone to take that personal information to access bank accounts, steal pay deposits, receive credit cards, and take out loans using your name. It can result in liability and loss to you.
You should consider contacting Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion online to request a temporary fraud alert that can be later extended. This alert notifies potential credit grantors to verify your identification before extending credit to anyone using your name. When you request this from one credit bureau, the other credit bureaus should be notified.
Additionally, you are entitled to one free credit report from each credit bureau every 12 months. You should use this to verify that accounts have not been established by someone else using your personal information.
Protect yourself from identity theft and fraud.