Data breaches
Letter from Experian North America CEO, Craig Boundy, informing T‑Mobile customer their personal information was compromised in Experian server hack. On 1 October 2015 Experian announced that they had discovered a data breach existing between 1 September 2013 and 16 September 2015.
In September of 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people. The company has agreed to a global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 U.S. states and territories.
The bottom line on Experian's safety
Experian, like most global companies, has a number of protections in place to prevent bad actors from accessing your personal financial information. Encryption, two factor authentication, and regular audits help keep you safe.
A Social Security number (SSN) is helpful when compiling your credit history because it is the only identifier uniquely assigned to each U.S. consumer. Experian will ask for it when you order your own credit report to help ensure that we provide you a complete and accurate report.
We use modern security practices and end-to-end encryption to establish a secure Open Banking connection with your bank account. To connect, you'll need to log into your bank account with your usual password, which ensures the connection has bank-level security.
Since the September 2017 announcement of the Equifax data breach, the credit bureau has spent $1.6 billion to fortify its cybersecurity defenses. Five years later, consumer data kept by Equifax and the two other major credit bureaus, Experian and TransUnion, remains vulnerable to breaches, though.
Equifax has created a website where you can find out if you have been affected by the breach. The website will ask you for the last six digits of your social security number and your last name, and then will tell you if you have been affected. You can also call 1-833-759-2982.
During a February 10, 2020 press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich joined other officials in announcing charges against four Chinese military-backed hackers in connection with the 2017 cyberattack against Equifax.
Review your credit reports
When reviewing your credit reports, look for any unfamiliar activity, including new lines of credit or loans in your name that you didn't request. If you find anything suspicious, it could be a sign that your SSN was compromised and used to commit identity theft.
According to reports, hackers accessed data belonging to 57,028 Bank of America clients. Even though the breach didn't extend to all of Bank of America's clients, less than 1%, hackers gained access to crucial personally identifiable information and account information.
The largest data breach from a bank in 2024 affected Evolve Bank & Trust , based in Memphis, Tennessee. Evolve disclosed to the Maine Attorney General that the breach affected 7.6 million people .
Experian effectively wins appeal against ICO Enforcement Notice. The First-Tier Tribunal has partly allowed an appeal by credit reference agency Experian against an ICO GDPR Enforcement Notice.
Experian (EXPGF) Ownership Overview
The ownership structure of Experian (EXPGF) stock is a mix of institutional, retail, and individual investors. Approximately 13.85% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 0.18% is owned by Insiders, and 9.62% is owned by Public Companies and Individual Investors.
Check Your Data Breaches History
Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection only needs your email address and phone number to crawl data leaked from breaches to see if your information was exposed. You get a full list of organizations that revealed your details and what type of personal information was exposed.
How secure is the information I provide to Equifax.com? Social Security number and credit card number(s) are encrypted before being transmitted to/from our servers. For your security, this site requires the use of a 128-bit SSL compatible browser.
Experian has confirmed that the breach has been reported to law enforcement and the appropriate regulatory authorities.
According to an email sent Monday, some people will be receiving another piece of the $700 million Equifax data breach settlement. The initial settlement set aside $425 million for consumers, and the upcoming payments are being made to distribute what's left of the money to eligible recipients.
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the top three credit bureaus in the U.S. They are private businesses that collect and sell data on the spending and borrowing habits of individual consumers.
A credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, helps restrict access to your credit report, which then makes it more difficult for other people to fraudulently open new accounts in your name. To be most effective, place a freeze with each of the three credit bureaus: TransUnion®, Experian®, and Equifax®.
The short answer is no. Legally speaking, a person or organization can check your credit only under certain circumstances. Someone either needs to have what's called “permissible purpose” or have your permission and cooperation in the process for the credit check to be considered legal.