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September 14, 2017
TO:
- IBANYS Member Banks
- IBANBYS Associate Members
In the aftermath of the massive Equifax data breach, IBANYS wants to make sure our member banks -- and, our associate member partners -- have the latest information on how the breach may impact the banks, their customers, your companies and consumers in general.
ICBA President & CEO Cam Fine has called on Equifax to immediately notify impacted customers and card issuers, noting community bankers are deeply concerned about the breach that involved 143 million American consumers.
"Community bank customers have many questions - whether their information was stolen and what they can do to protect their identities....community banks are asking whether the credit cards they issued are part of the breach." He urged Equifax's leadership to provide ICBA with initial and ongoing briefings regarding the breach's exten, as well as appropriate remedial actions, to help community banks respond to customer inquiries and concerns.
IBANYS strongly agrees with this approach, and we will keep you informed of future developments.
ICBA has also prepared a customizable letter community banks can use to inform their customers about the breach. It includes information on where consumers can find additional resources, and suggestions on protecting their identity. It also makes it clear that community banks were not compromised, but nevertheless want to help their customers. We have included the letter in this link, and have also reproduced it below for your convenience and customization.
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ICBA CUSTOMIZABLE LETTER ON
EQUIFAX DATA BREACH
DATE
Dear X:
Recently, Equifax, one of the three national consumer credit reporting agencies, announced a major data breach. This breach affects approximately 143 million Americans. This is what we know according to Equifax: the data breach occurred May - July 2017, and the information stolen includes consumers' personally identifiable information, including names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and, in some cases, driver's license numbers. Approximately 209,000 credit card numbers and dispute documents with personally identifiable information for approximately 182,000 consumers were also stolen. There is no evidence of unauthorized access to consumers' credit reporting databases.
To be clear, BANK NAME was not compromised and your information was not stolen from our bank. However, BANK NAME takes the security of our customer information very seriously, and we are providing you with the information we know about this massive breach and the steps you can take to protect your personally identifiable information if you so desire. Following this unprecedented breach, we are also asking our customers to be extra vigilant and report any suspicious activity in your BANK NAME accounts to BANK NAME by calling XXX-XXX-XXXX or visiting [WWW.BANK.COM].
Equifax has established a website that informs consumers if they may be affected by the breach, provides additional information on the breach, and offers complimentary identity theft protection and credit file monitoring. This information is available at
www.equifaxsecurity2017.com
. To protect your identity and personal information, BANK NAME strongly encourages our customers to take the actions noted below.
- Review your account statements to spot any suspicious transactions. You can also monitor your account activity online at any time at [WWW.BANK.COM].
- If you spot any suspicious transactions, please contact us immediately at 1-8XX-XXX-XXXX.
- Consider if you should place an initial fraud alert on your credit report (see https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0275-place-fraud-alert).
Experian ® TransUnion® Equifax®
P.O. Box 9554 P.O. Box 2000 P.O. Box 740241
Allen, TX 75013
Chester, PA 19016 Atlanta, GA 30374
888-397-3742
800-680-7289 800-349-5191
www.experian.com www.transunion.com www.equifax.com
- You should also contact the credit reporting agencies to notify them of any suspected fraud or identity theft.
If you believe you are the victim of identity theft, contact your local law enforcement office and/or your state attorney general. Finally, you may also want to consider reviewing information about recovering from identity theft, which is available from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at:
Equifax has established a dedicated toll-free number to answer questions you may have about the Equifax data breach and its effect on your personally identifiable information. You may call them at 866-447-7559.
Sincerely,
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