Equifax is a global data, analytics, and technology company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1899, the company was formed by a group of tailors from Great Britain who joined forces to share information about consumers who didn’t pay their debts. It became a publicly held corporation in 1965. Today, the company operates or has investments in 24 countries throughout North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region.
Equifax is most well-known as one of the top three credit reporting agencies (along with Experian and TransUnion). Equifax uses items from consumers’ credit accounts to create credit reports, which lenders and creditors then use to determine whether or not to extend a loan or credit.
Equifax offers two tiers of credit monitoring and identity protection services geared toward consumers: Value and Premium. These services range from basic credit report access to more detailed and intensive credit monitoring and identity theft prevention tools.
Value products are designed for cost-conscious consumers who need regular or occasional access to their credit score and who might need to keep tabs on their accounts.
Pricing as of September 30, 2021.
Value Product | Cost Per Month | Features |
Lock and Alert | Free | Easily lock and unlock your Equifax credit report. |
Equifax Core Credit | Free | Receive your credit score and report every month. |
Equifax Credit Monitor | $4.95 | Access your VantageScore credit score daily and see trends over time. Set up alerts for score changes and lock your credit report as needed. |
Equifax Complete | $9.95 | Access your credit report daily and get alerts for credit score changes. $500,000 in identity theft insurance and get a dedicated identity theft resolution specialist to help you recover from identity theft. |
If you’re looking to gain access to credit reports from all three bureaus at once or need some more robust identity theft protection tools, Equifax’s Premium line could be the right choice. You can choose from the following options.
Pricing as of September 30, 2021.
Premium Product | Cost Per Month | Features |
Equifax Complete Premier | $19.95 |
|
Score Watch | $14.95 |
|
Equifax Complete Family Plan | $19.95 |
|
Like its credit bureau counterparts, Equifax also delivers services, especially for businesses in a wide range of industries. As a cloud-native global data and analytics technology company, Equifax aims to help companies create data-driven solutions that drive revenue and deliver better customer experiences.
Equifax’s extensive menu of commercial products and services include the following:
Equifax allows you to place a fraud alert on your account if you have reason to suspect or anticipate fraudulent activity. That means lenders and creditors will need to take additional steps to verify your identity if you (or someone else) attempt to request credit. Generally, the lender or creditor will try to contact you personally to confirm that you’ve made the credit request.
Equifax offers two types of fraud alerts, both of which are free: initial and extended. An initial fraud alert is free and lasts for one year, while an extended fraud alert lasts for seven years and removes you from credit card and insurance offers for five years. To qualify for an extended alert, you’ll need to provide an FTC Identity Theft report or police report.
Equifax also offers you the ability to freeze your credit for free, which will prevent lenders and creditors from accessing your Equifax credit report when someone attempts to open credit in your name. The only catch is that you will not be able to apply for credit while the credit freeze is in place. You can temporarily lift the freeze if you want to apply for credit and then re-freeze your credit report.
If you want to freeze credit reports from the other two bureaus, you must contact Experian and TransUnion directly.
Unlike the Lock and Alert option that Equifax offers for free, credit freezes are federally regulated. That means you’ll have to apply for and wait for the freeze to reflect on your account, which can take up to 24 hours.
Dangerous text message scams are targeting Wells Fargo customers. These text message alerts for Zelle transactions or purchases with retailers are scams.
If you received a suspicious Capital One fraud text alert, it may be a scam. Learn how to spot the fake to protect your identity and funds.
Several versions of fake PayPal text messages are being sent to people worldwide. There are a few easy ways to tell which messages are scams and simple things you can do to protect yourself.
If you receive a text message from Chase Bank, don't click on any links or call the phone number listed—it could be a scam designed to steal your information and money.
If you've received a locked debit card text message from Citibank, it's likely a scam. Don't click on the link and delete the text message.
Keep your money safe by only paying for your new pet once you have the pet in your possession and avoid using Cash App.
If you receive an Alliant Credit Union email or text, make sure you verify that's it's legit before clicking on any links—scammers are targeting the financial institution's customers.
Venmo users are noticing suspicious emails hitting their inboxes with claims of a large sum of money waiting to be transferred by a PayPal user.
One of the most common scams found on the app, this is an attempt to steal your money by promising more in return for a small deposit—like flipping houses but for cash.
Scammers are taking advantage of renters desperate and in a rush to find a new home, stealing thousands from innocent people.
When a company is the victim of a data breach, it's completely out of your control. However, there are steps you can take afterward to protect your information and money.
It's estimated that $13 billion is lost each year to identity thieves. Knowing how to recover is important to minimize your losses and get your life back on track.
Getting scammed isn't fun, and there's often little you can do to recoup your losses, but there are steps you should take to protect yourself.
You may not pay much attention to your credit score until you need to apply for credit, but we have important reasons why your credit shouldn't be out of sight, out of mind.
Placing a fraud alert with Equifax can be done in a matter of minutes and can keep you safe from identity theft.
Robinhood's latest data breach of 5 million email addresses means that Robinhood users are about to encounter a wave of phishing attempts.
Robinhood recently suffered a massive data breach, exposing the information of millions of users.
The number of people searching for the term "COVID vaccine 5G" on Google has just hit an all-time high, but there's one way to be sure that there are no microchips.
Social media platforms are possibly the most used tools in committing fraud, responsible for $770 million in losses.
The FBI is warning Americans about a new scam circulating in the country involving fraudulent QR codes in public places.