Isle consumers sue over hacked credit information

Two federal class-action lawsuits were filed this week against consumer credit reporting giant Equifax on behalf of Hawaii consumers.

Equifax reported earlier this month that high-tech criminals hacked into computer systems where it stored the names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and, in some cases, driver’s license numbers of about 143 million Americans.

That means tens of thousands of Hawaii consumers are at risk of having their identities stolen, said James Bickerton, the lawyer who filed one of the lawsuits.

Equifax representatives declined to comment on the suit.

The lawsuits name only four plaintiffs. But if the court grants them class certification, anyone whose personal information was stolen in the Equifax security breach can claim a share of a judgment or settlement.

Equifax reported that it discovered the security breach July 29 but waited more than a month to warn consumers about it.

The Atlanta-based company has said it will send direct-mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or credit-dispute documents with personal identifying information were compromised. In addition, the company is directing everyone else to its website equifaxsecurity2017.com or phone number 866-447-7559 to find out whether their personal information may have been stolen.