Why people are more concerned about the Equifax data breach than the Facebook scandal

Facebook Vs Equifax

The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal is certainly the bigger headline grabber these days, but in a new survey by MagnifyMoney, we found more than half of Americans – 54 percent – are more concerned about the September 2017 Equifax breach than the social media snafu.

Based on the survey, which polled 1,000 U.S. adults, the knowledge that information like your Social Security Number and past addresses are in the hands of hackers is slightly more disconcerting than the idea of a political consulting firm using your Facebook data to influence an election.

The survey was conducted March 27-28, just days after news broke about the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal and several months since the Equifax breach was first made public.

Despite these concerns, half of Americans have taken NO action to protect their data since the the Equifax breach.

As far as the Equifax scandal is concerned, 50 percent of Americans say they haven't taken any action to protect their sensitive information in the months since the September 2017 breach. The most reported action was simply checking one's credit report for shady activity, which only 22 percent of respondents reported having done. Ten percent have closed unused credit accounts, frozen or locked their credit files (8 percent) or changed their ATM PIN information (7 percent).

1 in 4 people are considering no longer using the internet or apps to access bank/financial accounts:

Among those who currently access accounts online, about a quarter of respondents said they are considering no longer accessing their bank and financial accounts with mobile apps or via the internet. To get an idea of what kind of impact that may make, in 2016, the Federal Reserve reported 43% of all mobile phone owners with a bank account had used mobile banking. That figure jumps up to 53% among smartphone owners with a bank account.

Facebook could lose a substantial portion of its fan base

1 in 5 Americans are considering deleting their Facebook account post-data scandal. The remainder said they would take other precautions, such as using the social media platform less often, using the “share” button less and removing things they have “liked” in the past.

Facebook and Equifax scandals: A quick primer

https://csrps.com/meticulous-timeline-equifax-data-breach

https://www.identitytheft.gov/Info-Lost-or-Stolen