Skip to Content
Audio Banking Down
Our Audio banking system is currently down. We are working diligently to resolve these issues as soon as possible. Please use Mobile and Online banking to access your account. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Information regarding the recent Equifax breach

  We are committed to helping SHCU members respond to the unprecedented breach of financial and personal information at Equifax. Please see below for a message from our president and an additional list of recommendations as compiled by BALANCE, our financial fitness partner.

Dear Self-Help Credit Union members,

As reported widely in the news, a major data breach at Equifax has potentially exposed sensitive personal or financial information for some 143 million people.

Self-Help Credit Union has not been breached. This incident occurred at Equifax. Equifax reports that there is no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax’s core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases, which is where Self-Help CU reports member credit information. Because Self-Help, like other financial institutions, routinely requests or provides Equifax with consumer and commercial credit data, we will continue to monitor Equifax’s response to the breach and take any other steps necessary to protect our members’ information.

We encourage you to take action now to protect yourself from possible results of the Equifax breach.

This may include:

  • signing up for credit monitoring services (free from Equifax for one year)
  • “freezing” your credit file at the three major US credit bureaus (free for North Carolina residents): Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You may also want to freeze your credit at Innovis, a smaller credit reporting firm.
  • reviewing your credit report for free each year at www.annualcreditreport.com
  • reviewing your accounts carefully for unauthorized charges.

We’ve listed some additional suggestions below, and we will share any updates we receive here as well.

We are privileged to have you as a credit union member, and work every day to live up to the trust you place in us.

Sincerely,

Randy Chambers
President

Protect Your Identity and Credit

For more information about the Equifax breach, visit http://www.equifax.com or contact Equifax at 866-447-7559.

Consider using a credit monitoring service to alert you to changes in your credit report.

Consider adding a fraud alert to your credit file (good for 90 days) or credit freeze (good until you remove it).

Contact Information for the major credit bureaus:

  • Equifax: 800-525-6285
  • Experian: 888-397-3742
  • TransUnion: 800-680-7289

Watch out for scammers posing as Equifax–never give out personal information to a phone caller.

Call BALANCE, a financial education service, at 888-456-2227 to speak with a financial counselor (mention that you're a Self-Help Credit Union member).

Navigating a potential breach of personal financial information

  • Speak to a financial coach. BALANCE certified experts can help resolve any issues related to identity theft, or help review a credit report for suspicious activity.
  • View our Identity Theft Toolkit. BALANCE's online toolkit is packed with practical tips and resources. The toolkit can be found here: http://bit.ly/2wO6Dy0
Additionally, here are some other resources to help monitor and protect your identity and credit:
  • Equifax has set up a dedicated site at www.equifaxsecurity2017.com for consumers to determine if they have been impacted by the breach. Remember to access this site from a secure computer. You can also enroll in one free year of credit report monitoring from Equifax when visiting this site. Note: Equifax’s free monitoring service, TrustedID Premier, requires a valid SSN.
  • Check their credit reports annually from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—for free—by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. BALANCE can help you review these reports, including how to dispute inaccurate information.
  • You may consider placing a credit freeze on your files. A credit freeze makes it harder for someone to open a new account in your name. Keep in mind that a credit freeze won’t prevent charges from occurring on existing accounts.
  • Monitor existing credit card and financial institution accounts closely for charges that are not recognized.
  • You may also consider placing a fraud alert on your files. A fraud alert warns creditors that you may be an identity theft victim and that they should verify that anyone seeking credit in your name is really you.