Consumers should be wary of Equifax phishing scams in the wake of the massive data breach announced earlier this month. The 143 million records potentially stolen in the breach will be monetized, which means many will likely be sold to scammers.
Trend Micro has suggested a batch of data of this scale could easily be sold for $27 million on underground marketplaces and there would be no shortage of individuals happy to pay for the data. The records include the exact types of information that is sought by identity thieves, phishers, and scammers.
However, it is not necessary to have access to the stolen records to pull of scams. Many opportunistic cybercriminals are taking advantage of consumer interest in the breach and are preparing phishing websites to fool the unwary into revealing their sensitive information. Equifax’s response to the breach has also made it easier for phishers to ply their trade.
Equifax has taken the decision not to inform all breach victims by mail. Only the 209,000 individuals whose credit card numbers were exposed will be receiving a breach notification letter in the mail. All the remaining breach victims will have to check the Equifax website to find out if their information was compromised in the breach. With almost half the population affected, and next to no one being directly informed, virtually the entire population of the United States will need to head online to find out if they have been affected by the breach.
Equifax has set up a new domain where information is provided to consumers on the steps they can take to secure their accounts and minimize the risk of financial harm. The official website is equifaxsecurity2017.com. Via this website, U.S consumers can get regular updates and enroll in the free credit monitoring services being offered.
To obtain the free credit monitoring services, consumers will be routed to a website with the domain trustedidpremier.com and will need to enter their name and the last six digits of their social security number to start the process. Cybercriminals have been quick to take advantage and have registered swathes of websites and are using them to phish for sensitive information.
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Consumers Should Be Wary of Equifax Phishing Scams
USA Today reports that 194 domains closely resembling the site used by Equifax have already been registered in the past few days. Those domains closely mimic the site used by Equifax, with transposed letters and common typos likely to be made by careless typists. Many of the sites have already been shut down, but more are likely to be registered.
The purpose of these sites is simple. To obtain sensitive information such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth.
The technique is called typosquatting. It is extremely common and very effective. The websites use the same logos and layouts as the genuine sites and they fool many visitors into revealing their sensitive information. Links to the websites are sneaked into malicious adverts displayed via third-party ad networks and are emailed out in large scale phishing campaigns. Consumers should therefore exercise extreme caution and be alert to Equifax phishing scams sent via email and text message.
Consumers should also be careful about revealing sensitive information online and should treat all email attachments and emailed hyperlinks as potentially malicious. Consumers should look for the warning signs of phishing attacks in any email received, especially if it appears to have been sent from Equifax or another credit monitoring bureau, a credit card company, bank or credit union. Email, text messages and telephone scams are likely to be rife following an attack on this scale.
Additionally, all U.S. citizens should closely monitor their credit and bank accounts, Explanation of Benefits Statements, and check their credit reports carefully. Criminals already have access to a large amount of data and will be using that information for identity theft and fraud over the coming days, weeks, months and years.