Equifax Data Breach Settlement – What do you need to do?

Equifax Data Breach Settlement

What do you need to do?

            147 million American’s data was stolen from Equifax in 2017.  The data maintained by a credit bureau is immense and put all people affected by this breach at serious risk of Identity Theft.  Identity Theft is when someone takes your personal information and uses it to obtain credit for their use and your abuse.  The cost and time to resolve identity theft can be immense and humiliating. Now, after two years of litigation, the courts have ruled in favor of a $500 to $700 million settlement for all affected.

Anyone who had their information compromised is eligible for either 4 years of free credit monitoring at the three major credit Bureaus (and an option for 6 more at Equifax ) or cash up to $125 if you already have paid for credit monitoring and can attest to this.  Additionally, anyone who spent time recovering from the breach (whether you actually had an incident of Identity Theft or took steps to avoid it, i.e. initiated credit freezes and reviewed your reports) may be able to claim up to $25 per hour of time spent as well as any money spent up to a total of $20,000  plus free Identity Restoration Services.

To make a claim follow these few steps:

1. Go to equifaxbreachsettlement.com
2. Check at the bottom of the page by clicking: FIND OUT IF YOUR INFORMATION WAS IMPACTED and entering your last name and last six of your social security number.
3. If yes then click on FILE A CLAIM TODAY back toward the top of the page and read the instructions on the next couple of pages
4. Fill in the claim form and click on NEXT to Proceed to section 1.
5. If you don’t have credit monitoring already choose the option for 4 free years of credit monitoring (we also recommend you request the extra 6 years from just Equifax) or if you have been paying for credit monitoring select the cash reimbursement option.  Also choose cash payment if you were a victim of Identity Theft.  Lastly choose Free Identity Restoration Services if you were victimized.
6. Click NEXT to Proceed to section 2.
7. If you placed Credit Freezes, requested and reviewed your credit reports, or spent time on some other activity recovering from or preventing identity theft enter the form information and any supporting documents.
8. Click NEXT to Proceed to section 3.
9. Here you report if you lost or spent money as a result of Fraud or Identity theft resulting from the breach. You report it in the form and attach supporting documentation.
10. Lastly, select if you prefer a check or pre-paid card.

Please note those two important words Up To written before cash payment of $125 and $20,000.  There were 147 million people impacted by this data breach and there is only 500 to 700 million dollars.  If everyone makes a claim that is maybe $4 per person.  This is why it says Up To for everything is dependent on the number of claims made and the number of theft victims.  It will be interesting to see how much of any cash payments requested are paid out, especially to the actual Identity Theft victims, compared to their time and costs.

Everyone should go to this www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com website and see if their information was impacted and if so file a Claim.   If you were an Identity Theft victim, make sure to request everything you deserve.  

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