S04.E27: Equifax Security Breach

[Athena]

Quote

Other segments: Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct allegations, Decertification of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

 

[Annber03]

There are no words with the Equifax story. No. Words. 

I had literally the same reaction Oliver did to the whole connection with Lifelock, too. Funny, my mom always goes on about how companies like Lifelock come off sounding rather scammy and questionable. Looks like she's been proven right. 

(I had to stifle a bitter laugh, too, when Oliver talked about how reform with this stuff will take some time. Yep, and considering the kind of government we have right now, I'm thinking we'll be waiting a REALLY long time at this rate! Sigh. And on that note, you know, it may be fun and entertaining (albeit in a truly sad "sign of just how disorganized things are" sort of way) to see prominent Republicans actively calling Trump out in quotes and on Twitter and whatnot, but can we, like, actually have that translate into proper actions that would control/muzzle/tone down/etc. Trump and his crazy now, please?)

At least we got the cute video of that penguin, a RickRoll, and the whole pumpkin spice latte bit to lighten the mood a little, so there's that. 

Edited October 16, 2017 by Annber03

[Lantern7]

I'm not following the mayoral race here in NYC. I think Bo Dietl has successfully out-crazied the "Rent Is Too Damn High!" guy.

I'm not really into coffee. What is a latte?

[Jamoche]

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

I'm not following the mayoral race here in NYC. I think Bo Dietl has successfully out-crazied the "Rent Is Too Damn High!" guy.

I'm not really into coffee. What is a latte?

Espresso with lots of milk. Cappuccino is espresso with less milk and more foam.

All the credit tracking companies come across as a heavy in a mobster movie: "That's a nice identity you got there. Shame if anything were to ... happen to it."

[attica]

I was actually considering LifeLock but hesitated when I saw their price structure. $10 a month for nothing but handholding, $30 a month for a little more help, $50 a month for a little more help. Nothing preventive at all.  So I consulted the heroes at Consumer Reports for advice on maybe another brand, but they recommended exactly what JO outlined in this ep: freeze.  Which is depressing in that once again, we're all on our own. Even throwing money at a problem doesn't solve the problem on our behalf; we gotta each of us do our own lockdowns.

I would feel better if the first people whose identities are stolen were the jamokes that run these companies, for which Todd would be just a start, but I don't think the hackers share my sense of justice.

[Chaos Theory]

I was considering LifeLock as well but it seemed like a scam to me.  

[dcalley]

There is a fourth bureau John didn't mention, Innovis. Tax fraud was mentioned very briefly in a news clip. Criminals file with your info to get a refund sent to them (even if you wouldn't get a refund, they make the numbers show a refund is due) and you don't find out until you try to file and it's rejected. The IRS budget has been cut back, making it harder for them to detect and fix problems. I don't know the current status of the IRS PIN that victims of identity theft can get in order to file, but at least as of last year, that PIN could be retrieved by answering questions to verify your identity, such as past address and loan details, through Equifax. It's a mess. (Fortunately it seems a freeze with Equifax stops the PIN retrieval process, but don't quote me on that.) There's fraud at the state level, too. This is a freelance (former Washington Post) reporter who knows a lot about the cyber: https://krebsonsecurity.com/category/tax-refund-fraud/

[attica]

50 minutes ago, dcalley said:

the cyber

You'd get my heart just for that, even if the rest of the post was crap, which it's totally not. 

[ganesh]

10 hours ago, Jamoche said:

All the credit tracking companies come across as a heavy in a mobster movie: "That's a nice identity you got there. Shame if anything were to ... happen to it."

The credit bureaus are the postmodern mafia and should be prosecuted under RICO. I had problems for years with misinformation on my reports (no fault of my own). These are the most incompetent rudest people you will ever deal with. The trick is you need to find the phone number that let's you talk to a real person. 

2 hours ago, attica said:

Nothing preventive at all.  So I consulted the heroes at Consumer Reports for advice on maybe another brand, but they recommended exactly what JO outlined in this ep: freeze.

The problem though is you have to pay to freeze and unfreeze. And while does work, you also can't get utilities hooked up, get a phone, mortgage, rent, credit card etc., while frozen. 

The guy in the cow suit was right though. You don't hear anyone saying they're not going to recognize or use any data from Equifax. There's no accountability and no one is holding them to it. 

[Victor the Crab]

Please tell me that physical version of a troll Bo Dietl hasn't gained a sizeable amount of support in the New York mayoral race and may actually have an outside chance of success.

PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE!!! YOU CAN MAKE IT YOURSELF ANYTIME OF THE YEAR AND NOT WAIT FOR FALL TO ARRIVE! PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE!!! AND TUCKER CARLSON'S A FUCKING DICK FOR SAYING THAT STUPID SHIT! PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE!!! lol.

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, Victor the Crab said:

Please tell me that physical version of a troll Bo Dietl hasn't gained a sizeable amount of support in the New York mayoral race and may actually have an outside chance of success.

My thoughts exactly. Please, can we see an election here in the States end on a good note for a change?

Quote

AND TUCKER CARLSON'S A FUCKING DICK FOR SAYING THAT STUPID SHIT! PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE!!! 

Seriously, WTF was that about? Mind, it's Carlson, so I'm not surprised, but still. What? 

[ganesh]

I don't like anything pumpkin-food related. 

[Annber03]

I can't recall ever trying anything pumpkin-flavored, period. 

[attica]

8 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I can't recall ever trying anything pumpkin-flavored, period. 

Pumpkin isn't exactly flavorful by itself, which is why you can shove it into lots of recipes with no change of taste (I toss a can into my mac & cheese sauce to trick myself into eating veggies.) The flavors they're hawking are the spice mixture familiar in pumpkin pie: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ground ginger. Plus some sugar, if I'm betting right.

[Rlb8031]

1 hour ago, Victor the Crab said:

Please tell me that physical version of a troll Bo Dietl hasn't gained a sizeable amount of support in the New York mayoral race and may actually have an outside chance of success.

Four of the five boroughs that make up the city are majority Democratic and Bo doesn't have a shot in hell. The fifth is where the other candidate Nicole Maliotakis (sp?) comes from (its Staten Island in case you're interested). Barack Obama's dog Bo has a better chance of being elected mayor, and he's not even running.

[dusang]

48 minutes ago, Rlb8031 said:

Four of the five boroughs that make up the city are majority Democratic and Bo doesn't have a shot in hell. The fifth is where the other candidate Nicole Maliotakis (sp?) comes from (its Staten Island in case you're interested). Barack Obama's dog Bo has a better chance of being elected mayor, and he's not even running.

I don't know this race, I don't know these people, but I know 2016.  And knowing 2016, I know to take nothing for granted.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Well. I know what I'm going to do when I go to buy my next car--and when they say my credit is shit and try to hose me with the percentage--I'll tell them: "I was HACKED!" So ignore whatever came up and make me a deal because I've only been your customer for over 20 years and this will be the fourth car I'm buying from you. Of course I'll have my sister-in-law with me, who can out haggle anyone.

Edited October 16, 2017 by GHScorpiosRule

[attica]

47 minutes ago, dusang said:

And knowing 2016, I know to take nothing for granted.

Trump lost four boroughs of NYC 80-20, won SI 55-45(ish). He lost Manhattan/Bronx 90/10. But no kidding, your point is still valid.

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, attica said:

Pumpkin isn't exactly flavorful by itself, which is why you can shove it into lots of recipes with no change of taste (I toss a can into my mac & cheese sauce to trick myself into eating veggies.) The flavors they're hawking are the spice mixture familiar in pumpkin pie: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ground ginger. Plus some sugar, if I'm betting right.

Yeah, "some." I can't understand people drinking those sugary, whipped-creamy lattes on a regular basis. I'm not a big buy-a-coffee-beverage person, but a couple of times I used a coupon from my grocery store to get a mocha caramel latte from the Starbucks inside the store. Yes, it was delicious, but obviously it has a ton of calories. Anyway, I've never tried a pumpkin spice latte and have no desire to.

 

I went to LWT's EquifaxFraudPrevention site. It has links to freeze your credit line at the line agencies. I haven't clicked on any of them yet, but does anyone know any more details, like how much it costs? 

3 hours ago, ganesh said:

The problem though is you have to pay to freeze and unfreeze. And while does work, you also can't get utilities hooked up, get a phone, mortgage, rent, credit card etc., while frozen.

Do you know how long it takes to lock or unlock it? 

Before last night, I didn't hear what exactly Donna Karan had said. Wow. What the hell is wrong with her? 

Love John saying that Trump signs stuff by putting a pen in his mouth and having a seizure.

John continued admiration of Mnunchin's looks cracks me up.

Edited October 16, 2017 by peeayebee

[ganesh]

I thought it was like 7 or 8 dollars when I did it. And that was per bureau of course. I think the freeze goes into effect in 3 to 5 days. This was early 2000s or so. The reason I did the freeze was because to keep the bureaus out of my credit report because they kept mixing files. All I had was students loans and a credit card and I kept getting houses and cars. A JCPenney charge account from when I was 1 y/o! I couldn't get a new cell phone because the phone company couldn't actually find my credit report. 

What sucks is that the burden is on you to prove the error, but it takes months per, and by then there was new stuff slapped onto my report. So I just froze them. Also, tons of companies just do credit checks on you for no reason and that pings your score. 

Edited October 16, 2017 by ganesh

[dcalley]

27 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I went to LWT's EquifaxFraudPrevention site. It has links to freeze your credit line at the line agencies. I haven't clicked on any of them yet, but does anyone know any more details, like how much it costs?

It varies by state. Each bureau should have a list online, but there's also one here: http://consumersunion.org/research/consumers-unions-guide-to-security-freeze-protection-2/

[wknt3]

I was a little disappointed that the Equifax segment missed a couple of key points IMHO. I understand that they can't cover everything, but I wish he had made it clear that Lifelock may be the biggest name and the most predatory, but there are plenty of other paid "identity theft protection" services out there that are equally worthless or not worth paying for that are using this to advertise, many partnered with credit card issuers or banks (including the one I work for) and that he had included some background on the way the credit bureaus have fought oversight. And I would have loved it if he had encouraged everyone to call their elected officials and told them to pass simple reform making the agencies liable when your information is stolen or their error harms you. It just seems like instead of focused action as usual they just sort of threw up their hands and were like "well the system sucks and there are no good options, but here's something inconvenient you can do and they will charge you for..."

[meowmommy]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I went to LWT's EquifaxFraudPrevention site. It has links to freeze your credit line at the line agencies. I haven't clicked on any of them yet, but does anyone know any more details, like how much it costs? 

I tried weeks ago to freeze my TransUnion and Experian accounts online, and they refused to allow it.

6 hours ago, Victor the Crab said:

Please tell me that physical version of a troll Bo Dietl hasn't gained a sizeable amount of support in the New York mayoral race and may actually have an outside chance of success.

Who knows.  We all thought his orangutan half-brother didn't have a chance last November, and look where we are.

[Robert Lynch]

That New York City mayoral debate was such a mess. It was like an SNL skit altogether and Bo Dietl was the clown.

[trow125]

My state (CA) allows credit bureaus to charge $10 to freeze and unfreeze credit, which is ridiculous. After watching last night's show, I've decided to write to my state representatives and tell them that this service should be free for everyone.

[Gemma Violet]

I froze all three of mine.  According to the State list, I should have been charged $10 for all three; however, Experian charged me $10, and Transunion and Equifax were free.  I can certainly understand (and expect) that Equifax would not charge, but I was surprised Transunion didn't charge.  It could be that my State changed the charge or more likely Transunion was trying to get some good word of mouth going for their company.  Each company gave me a pin number which I put in a secure place.  Whenever you need to unfreeze your credit, you just have to call them up and give them the pin to unfreeze it.  The thing is:  Freezing your credit only helps with people trying to fool with your credit card, etc.  It doesn't help with someone filing taxes in your name, etc. 

I joined Lifelock right around the time I froze my accounts.  Yeah, I know, but it gives me a little more piece of mind.  And one thing Jon didn't point out: 145 million people may be about half of the population, but it's not half the adults.  Most children and teens will not have a credit rating since they've never taken out a loan or applied for a credit card, so the credit bureaus wouldn't have their info in their files.  So I think it's way over 50% of the adult population of the U.S.

[DEL901]

I loved the debate moderator calmly asking for the mic to be turned off each time Bo wouldn't stop talking.

[attica]

2 hours ago, DEL901 said:

I loved the debate moderator calmly asking for the mic to be turned off each time Bo wouldn't stop talking.

Oh, that's the endlessly awesome Errol Louis from NY1. That's the Time-Warner Cable funded news channel for NYC. They have some good peeps.

[paigow]

http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/100998tough-film-review.html

Stephen Baldwin played Bo Dietl in a movie....Take this as an omen...or not....

Edited October 17, 2017 by paigow
Add link to NY Times review - 1998!

[sacrebleu]

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I loved the debate moderator calmly asking for the mic to be turned off each time Bo wouldn't stop talking.

I only wish the moderators during last year's primary and presidential campaigns had the authority to shut off mics