Free credit freezes available to consumers

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is reminding Michigan residents that effective June 17th free credit freezes became available to all Michigan residents, according to a new state law.

“Following multiple security breaches that have exposed personal information of millions of Michigainians, I worked with the legislature to make sure that after a breach, it would not cost those exposed their hard-earned dollars when they weren’t at fault,” said Schuette. “I applaud our legislature for taking the important step to protect Michigan residents, and I encourage those who have been impacted and those who want to limit who has access to their credit reports to take advantage of our new zero-cost credit freeze law.”

A credit freeze is a temporary block on third parties’ ability to access a consumer’s credit report. Credit reporting agencies can no longer charge fees associated with freezing a consumer’s credit report. The benefit of freezing a credit report is that no one can sign up for a new financial service using your stolen information.

Schuette joined with more than 40 other states and the District of Columbia in an investigation of credit giant Equifax in September 2017. The investigation remains open.

If you are uncertain as to whether your credit was breached, Schuette encourages Michigan residents to go to Equifax’s Cybersecurity Incident & Important Consumer Information website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, to see if your information has been impacted.

You can also read Equifax’s FAQ for Consumers; Progress Updates for Consumers; and Notice of Data Breach to keep up on the latest announcements from Equifax.

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