8 Million New Yorkers Affected By Big Data Breach

A massive data breach at a major credit reporting service may have exposed personal information of several million New York residents.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Friday said more than eight million New Yorkers were affected by the Equifax data breach.

Schneiderman urged all state residents to "immediately call Equifax" to find out whether their information has been compromised.

People can get in touch with an Equifax call center by calling 866.447.7559. The center is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Schneiderman said he has launched an investigation into the data breach episode, which is said to have lasted from mid-May through July.

For months, hackers apparently were able to access names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and driver's license numbers. Credit card numbers belonging to 209,000 people reportedly were stolen.

Schneiderman said the breach may have exposed sensitive personal information of nearly everyone with a credit report.

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