A new report by MSNBC examines a peculiar “coincidence” that involves Equifax and an E-book seller named Digismarket.com. Literally hundreds of internet shoppers have noticed unauthorized charges of $4.95 from Digismarket.com. The other connection many of them had was that they had also recently used those cards to purchase credit services through Equifax.
Equifax conducted an internal investigation and reported that there was no connection and no evidence of a data breach. However, hundreds of victims are convinced there is more to the story.
One of the theories is that one or more Equifax employees used or sold the private information in order to profit illegally. There have been instances of other insider fraud at other large corporations, which may be fueling speculation that this was an inside job. However, such speculation is merely that, and there is no direct evidence linking the Equifax to these unauthorized charges.
For Equifax, they will have to be more diligent and monitor both their employees and their security more closely. Equifax is believed to have some of the strongest security measures available to protect consumer information.
Regardless of what you believe, there is one common lesson we can all learn. Make sure that you review your transactions carefully to account for all charges. If you do not recognize a transaction, contact your card issuer for clarification. Often times, a phone number is listed beside the transaction. You can call the number or research it online to find out the source of the transaction.
What makes it more difficult is that some retailers utilize a different name than what the charge appears under. Even so, it pays to monitor your accounts closely and contact your card issuer or bank immediately at the first sign of trouble.
