© 2024 Peoria Public Radio
A joint service of Bradley University and Illinois State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Illinois Attorney General Investigating Equifax Breach

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is urging residents to take precautions after credit-monitoring company Equifax said a breach exposed information about 143 million Americans.

Madigan said that she has started an investigation in the breach and called on Equifax to provide free credit freezes to all Illinois residents. She says potential risks for consumers are serious and urged Illinoisans to take precautions, like freezing their credit, to reduce any damage.

Atlanta-based Equifax said a U.S. website application was exploited to access files between May and July of this year. The theft obtained consumers' names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, driver's license numbers.

The company established a website, https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/, where people can check to see if their personal information may have been stolen.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.