| Friends and clients,
You’ve probably already heard, but 143 million Americans are potentially affected by the recent, unprecedented Equifax hack. If you were afraid of having your data stolen (names, SS#, birth dates, addresses, credit cards numbers, and driver's license numbers, etc.); you may have already taken some steps to limit the damage.
What if you are in the process of buying a home or are getting ready to do so? How does this hack affect you and what can you do to make you are protected?
Potential fallout for Homebuyer: - If your Equifax file was looted but you've done little or nothing to detect fraudulent activity on one or more of you credit accounts.
- If your are taken advantage of by hackers, it creates a huge mess if you're looking to qualify for a home loan and those already in escrow.
Steps to take now: - Even if you have never used Equifax directly, the credit reporting agency could still have a lot of your personal information. You can go to the Equifax website to see if you were affected.
- To protect your credit and prevent thieves from stealing your identity, pull your credit reports for free once a year at www.annualcreditreport.com. Look them over carefully to make sure there are not any fraudulent accounts and/or charges. If you see anything, get on the phone with the creditor right away and start the dispute process.
- If you're in the process of applying for a home loan or are under contract, you'll also want to call your lender immediately to alert them to what you found.
To freeze or not to freeze: - There has been quite a bit of discussion about credit freezes since news of the breach broke. Some consumers are concerned that "turning off" their credit could potentially damage their score or negatively impact them in some other way - especially during the homebuying process.
- A credit freeze is the most extreme method, but it's also the most effective at preventing your information from being stolen and used to open new accounts. If you don't want to lock out all creditors - perhaps you're in the middle of mortgage shopping or refinancing - you can place a 90-day fraud alert on your credit that tells potential creditors to verify your identity before issuing credit in your name.
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__________________________
Monique Walker
RE/MAX Excalibur
Realtor
Phoenix, AZ
Mobile: (602) 413-8195
Monique@MoniqueSells.com
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Monique Walker
8510 E. Shea #100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
US
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