Stolen data for life

Let’s go back to the summer of 2019, when the Desjardins data theft scandal was revealed. The financial institution quickly announced a measure to reassure its members: a subscription to a service from the credit rating agency Equifax, valid for five years, which allows us, among other things, to receive an email each time an activity is recorded in our file.

The counter started on the activation date, so the exact time the protection ends varies from person to person. It will end in 2024 for 1.7 million people, or 76% of those who had subscribed to it, Desjardins confirmed to The Press.

But the fraudsters who have the stolen data have it forever, and can still try to resell it. If you have children whose accounts were targeted in 2019, this is also true for them, and they will have to be vigilant for the rest of their lives.

What to do then?

The question arises because if you want to keep the service, which is called “Equifax Complete Superior”, you must now be prepared to pay no less than $24.95 per month.

“Twenty-five dollars a month is still a high price to monitor data that belongs to us,” says Maxime Dorais, co-director of the Union des consommateurs.

This is because since the leak, legal protections have been put in place to better protect consumers, which allows access to several free services.

Additionally, if you are one of the Desjardins members who was affected by the theft, the termination of your Equifax subscription does not mean the complete end of the services to which you are entitled.

Desjardins Protection remains in effect without time limit, which means that assets held and transactions made at Desjardins are protected in the event of an unauthorized transaction. Desjardins also offers personalized support if you are a victim of identity theft, and reimbursement of up to $50,000 for fees and expenses incurred as part of an identity restoration process.