Dealing with the Equifax beach

Typing your last name and final six digits of your social security number into Equifax’s website is sort of like getting a sore tooth looked at by the dentist - you know you need to do it, but the potential bad news you receive could lead to future pain. In this case, it is less of a root canal and more identity theft. I’m not sure which is more painful.

To recap recent events, Equifax is one of three major consumer credit-reporting agencies, with data on more than 820 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide. In early September, EquiFax revealed that hackers may have stole...