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Equifax Data Breach Could Impact Nearly Half of All Americans

The credit reporting company has a tool to check to see if you were a victim

The FBI is investigating a massive cyberattack at credit reporting agency Equifax that affects nearly half of the entire population of the United States.

About 325 million people live in the U.S., and Equifax reports more than 143 million of them could have had their information taken.

Hackers found a hole in the Equifax system which allowed those criminals to get in and access everything from credit card numbers to what Equifax is calling "identifying information," such as names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birthdays and driver's license numbers.

If you disputed something on your report, that information may have been stolen as well.

Equifax says this went on from the middle of May until July 29, when the company realized the breach and shut the hackers out.

The company is sending letters to people impacted by the incident.

Equifax has set up a website to let you see if your personal information has been accessed.

The system has been struggling to keep up with the number of people attempting to access the website in the hours after the breach was announced Thursday, so you may need to keep trying.

MORE: Click here to check your status with Equifax

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