SANDWICH – A local State Representative is encouraging Cape Codders to check to see if they were affected by the Equifax cyber breach.
Sandwich Republican Randy Hunt says people should “take this situation seriously.” The credit company has established a website, EquifaxSecurity2017.com, where consumers can check to see if they may have been among the 143 million Americans possibly compromised by the hack.
According to Hunt, that represents a significant portion of the adult population in the United States, which is roughly 250 million.
“Relatively few 18 to 25-year-olds have credit records with the three primary credit companies,” Hunt said. “So we’re looking at upwards of 75 percent of people with credit records having had their information stolen.”
The Federal Trade Commission has become the latest entity to announce an investigation into the security breach at Equifax.
The FTC said Thursday that it was opening an investigation into how Equifax got hacked and 143 million Americans’ personal information was either accessed or stolen. Typically the FTC does not disclose who it is investigating, but the agency said the high amount of attention in this case made it necessary.
The FTC is not the only Washington authority looking into the breach. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau previously announced its own investigation, and the House Financial Services Committee plans to hold hearings on the breach in early October. Politicians from both major parties are calling for additional investigations by Congress or the Department of Justice.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is filing suit against the company.
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