How Does the Equifax Breach Affect Canadians? + MORE Sep 12th

When it comes to gaming, your credit card can be compromised in a variety of ways, including account takeover, phishing and card theft through in-app purchases.

If you have been thinking about getting Canada’s #1 Travel Rewards Card you need to apply for it by tomorrow! Or if you had it, cancelled it and were waiting to reapply (ie churn it via your referral program etc.) you should apply today or tomorrow. The reason why is that after nearly 7 years of being a first year free card, the card will no longer offer it. As of September 14th the Gold Rewards Card’s $150 annual fee will be charged from day one.  You can find out more and/or apply for the card here With all that being said, even with a $150 annual fee the card is still going to be considered one of the best in Canada, it just won’t be advantageous to the churners but more so those who keep the card for the everyday spending like 2 points per dollar on travel, gas, grocery and drug stores. Remember as well the first supplementary card has no fee.American Express Gold Rewards Card• New American Express® Gold Rewards Cardmembers can earn a Welcome Bonus of 25,000 Membership Rewards® points just by making $1,500 in purchases in the first three months of Cardmembership * • That’s enough to redeem for a round-trip Fixed Mileage Flight RewardTM to almost anywhere in North America • Transfer your points to frequent flyer programs, or 1:1 to Aeroplan®* and Avios• Earn 2 points for every $1 on eligible travel and  everyday purchases…

Late last week, credit reporting agency Equifax reported it had suffered a major data breach that affects more than 143 million consumers in the United States. Between May and July this year, Equifax claims hackers were able to gain access to key consumer details such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, driver’s licence numbers, credit card numbers and other personal information.
While most of those affected are located in the U.S., the Atlanta-based credit bureau says hackers may have accessed “limited personal information” from Canadian consumers, as well as those in the United Kingdom.
On its Canadian website, Equifax says the breach has been contained since it was discovered on July 29, but it is still investigating exactly how many Canadians were affected.  At this point in time, the company acknowledges that personal information including names, addresses and social insurance numbers may have been compromised.
Regardless of how many people are affected, however, every Canadian can take proactive steps to make sure their information is safe going forward…