Most Americans haven't checked their credit, despite data breaches
- 54 percent of Americans say Equifax should lose their rights as a credit reporting firm, new poll finds.
- 83 percent say there should be stricter legislation to protect consumer information.
A majority of Americans haven't checked to see if their information was compromised in the Equifax data breach, according to a new survey by LendEDU.
While more than 84 percent of respondents said they had heard of the hack, 55 percent still don't know if they were one of the 143 million affected. LendEDU polled 1,000 American consumers ages 18 and up earlier this month.
While many Americans may be unaware if they were affected, 54 percent of them still believe Equifax should not be allowed to continue as a credit reporting company, the survey found. And about 83 percent say lawmakers should enact stricter legislation and oversight to protect consumer credit information.
Concerned consumers can visit Equifax's webpage, EquifaxSecurity2017.com, to find out if they were affected. (Be warned: Experts say the system is confusing, and there are reasons to be cautious about signing up for credit monitoring there.) The company has also said it will send direct mail notices to consumers whose credit card numbers or dispute information were compromised.
"We are focused on helping consumers navigate this situation, which includes listening to concerns and feedback expressed in this poll and through other channels. We continue to implement and accelerate long-term security improvements as part of our ongoing actions to help prevent this type of incident from happening again," an Equifax spokesperson said.
—CNBC's Kelli B. Grant contributed to this report.