What you should know about the Equifax breach settlement?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a consumer alert regarding the Equifax Data Breach. In September 2017, Equifax announced a data breach, which affected the personal information of 147 million people. Under a recent settlement filed, Equifax agreed to spend up to $425 million to help people affected by the data breach.
What you should do after Equifax data breach?
- Everyone should monitor their bank and credit card accounts to spot unauthorized activity. ...
- You should also place a fraud alert with each of the three major CRAs. ...
- You can consider signing up for Equifax’ credit monitoring service. ...
- You may want to take an additional step: placing a security freeze. ...
How to protect yourself from the Equifax breach?
You should:
- Scrutinize all credit card and bank statements. Take note of small, but suspicious, charges. ...
- Check your credit report from all three credit bureaus. This will help you determine if unauthorized accounts have been opened in your name. ...
- Refrain from giving out personal information over the phone or through email. ...
What should I do after the Equifax data breach?
What to do if your account is compromised
- Least sensitive — change your password. If you’re notified that one of your online accounts has been compromised, change your password immediately.
- Moderately sensitive — notify your bank. If your card payment numbers have been stolen, notify the bank or company that issued the card immediately.
- Most sensitive — notify Equifax and TransUnion. ...
Will Equifax email me?
Learn more at the FTC's official site for information: ftc.gov/Equifax. Remember that you don't have to pay for credit monitoring as part of this settlement, and nobody will call, text, or email out of the blue to ask you for your credit card or bank account numbers, or to “help” you get your free credit monitoring.
Has anyone received money from Equifax?
After a data breach in 2017 exposed personal data of more than 147 million consumers, including in some cases Social Security and driver's license numbers, credit bureau Equifax agreed to pay hundreds of millions in compensation to help affected consumers.
How do I know if Equifax breach affected me?
Equifax has created a website where you can find out if you have been affected by the breach. The website will ask you for the last six digits of your social security number and your last name, and then will tell you if you have been affected. You can also call 1-833-759-2982.
How do I check my Equifax settlement?
Status of financial reimbursement For more details and to check your claim status, visit EquifaxBreachSettlement.com . If you were affected by the Equifax data breach, you can still claim financial reimbursement for costs you incurred, or time you spent dealing with fraud or identity theft, after January 22, 2022.
What happened to the Equifax settlement Payments?
The company has agreed to a global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 U.S. states and territories. The settlement includes up to $425 million to help people affected by the data breach.
How much can you get from a data breach settlement?
You can get compensation for up to 20 hours at $25 per hour for the time you spent taking measures to prevent identity theft or dealing with identity theft. Ten hours can be self-certified, requiring no documentation.
Should I give my Social Security number to Equifax?
Is it okay to give it to them? Yes. The credit reporting agencies ask for your Social Security Number (or Taxpayer ID Number) and other personal information to identify you and avoid sending your credit report to the wrong person. It is okay to give this information to the credit reporting agency that you call.
Does Equifax need my SSN?
We ask for personal information, such as your Social Security number, during the order process to verify your identity and to locate your Equifax credit report.
Is my Equifax the same as Equifax?
Highlights: With a free myEquifax account, you can receive free Equifax credit reports, place a security freeze, fraud alert or submit a dispute. A myEquifax account is FREE, and for anyone to easily view and monitor their Equifax credit report and needs credit report assistance.
How much is Equifax settlement?
Back in 2017, Equifax infamously suffered a data breach that exposed devastating levels of personal and financial information of about 147 million Americans. Its punishment was a $575 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and a pinkie promise to go forth and sin no more.
Who qualifies for the Equifax settlement?
You are a Settlement Class Member if you are among the approximately 147 million U.S. consumers identified by Equifax whose personal information was impacted by the Equifax Data Breach.
How much was the Equifax settlement?
$425 millionOn June 3, 2021, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the $425 million Equifax data breach settlement. It is not known at this time how quickly claims will be paid. Top Class Actions will continue to provide updates as they become available.
How much money will I get from Equifax?
You can file a claim for the standard payout, up to 10 years of credit monitoring — OR — up to $125 to if you already pay for credit monitoring. They are calling it the “Alternative Reimbursement Compensation,” and it is the most straightforward path you can take.
How does Equifax get paid?
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion make most of their money selling bulk lists to banks and credit card companies. American Express, for example, could purchase a list of potential customers 25 to 30 years old with credit scores above 650.
How does Equifax work?
1. We compile your credit history based on your credit accounts, using your Social Security number or other identification information. 2. We provide your credit information, in the form of credit reports, to lenders and creditors to help them determine your creditworthiness.
Here's the backstory
The Equifax data breach reported in July 2017 is one of the worst of all time. Critical information was stolen from over 147 million Americans, including Social Security numbers, dates of birth and home addresses.
How to take advantage of the Equifax settlement
The FTC verified the email’s legitimacy and that the settlement became final in January 2022. It went on to say the settlement administrator recently began sending emails and letters to people who filed a valid claim requesting free credit monitoring services from the settlement.
Claim
Equifax data breach settlement emails offering a free membership for Experian IdentityWorks are legitimate.
Origin
In late January 2022, Google users looked to Reddit and elsewhere to find out if an email for the status of the Equifax data breach settlement was a “scam or legit,” as readers often do after receiving such notices.
How much can you claim for time spent on Equifax?
The Equifax settlement has a provision through which victims can claim a cash payment for "time spent.". This means that you can claim a rate of $25 per hour for up to 20 hours of the time you wasted dealing with the fallout of the breach.
How much can you claim for a credit freeze?
If you spent hours researching what to do about the breach, setting up credit freezes, hopping on the phone with your bank, or doing anything else remotely relevant, you can claim up to $250 for that time without needing to show any specific evidence.
Can you still get your money from Equifax?
The Equifax settlement process has been absurd, but don't worry. You can still get your money. Photograph: David Muir/Getty Images
Does Equifax have free credit monitoring?
The free credit monitoring Equifax offered after its breach has now expired, but many states offer a list of disclosed breaches that you can check. Many of those companies have given out free credit monitoring as recompense.
How long does Equifax monitor credit?
According to our records, you filed a claim for alternative compensation of up to $125 in connection with the Equifax data breach settlement and certified on the claim form that you had some form of credit monitoring or protection in place and will continue to have the credit monitoring in place for a minimum of six months from the date of your claim filing.
What happens if you don't file an alternative claim?
If you do not, your claim for alternative compensation will be denied.
How much did Intertia promise to pay?
Basically. Their pr messed up big time by promising everyone $125 even though the numbers didn't support it. Rather than cough up more $$$ they're going to let intertia reduce the number of cash claims so that the masses put down their pitchforks.
Does Equifax ask for Social Security number?
The Equifax Data Breach Settlement Administrator will never ask you to provide sensitive information, such as, your Social Security Number or Tax ID, Bank Account Number, Credit Card Number, Driver’s License or Passport Number, or Password, etc. via email. All email communications sent by the Equifax Data Breach Settlement Administrator OR on behalf of the settlement administrator will originate from [email protected], the official email address of the settlement. If you receive an email which you suspect to be fraudulent, do not reply or do anything it instructs you to do, but immediately forward it to [email protected].
