Equifax, an American credit monitoring company, said its database had been hacked and that nearly 143 million Americans' personal information could be leaked. Cyber criminals have access to personal information including name, social security number, date of birth, address and driver's license number.

In addition, Equifax said information about 209000 U.S. credit card users had been leaked. People living in the UK and Canada are also affected.

According to CNN, the leak could occur between mid May and July. The company said it found out on July 29 that they had been attacked by hackers.

"It's a bad thing," said Equifax CEO Smith. We have been hit hard by this incident. "

Equifax is one of the three major credit monitoring institutions in the United States. It has customer loan and credit card information, and has relevant credit score information. Equifax's data are obtained from credit card companies, banks and sellers. These institutions will report customers' personal credit activities to credit monitoring institutions.

Equifax leaks information, causing panic in the United States. Many credit card customers check their personal information online. New York alone has more than eight million victims. New York State Attorney General Donald schneiderman has written to Equifax asking for more information about the leak and announced an investigation. Schneiderman reminds consumers to pay close attention to the unauthorized consumption in their credit cards and bank accounts, and call the credit card company or bank as soon as they find out.