According to an FTC release, Equifax would add up to $125 million to the fund if the initial payment is not enough to compensate consumers for their losses. "Given the FTC's weak legal authority, it's a pretty strong settlement," says Justin Brookman, director of privacy and technology policy for Consumer Reports.
Full Answer
What is Equifax's $700 million settlement?
Credit agency Equifax will pay up to $700 million in fines as part of a settlement with federal authorities over a data breach in 2017. The Federal Trade Commission said in a statement Monday that ...
What happened to Equifax?
In September of 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people. 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.
What does the $300 million Equifax fine mean for You?
A substantial chunk of the fine--$300 million--is to go into a fund that will provide credit monitoring services and compensate anyone who bought such products from Equifax as a result of the data breach. An extra $125 million will go into to the fund if that $300 million isn’t enough.
How much did you pay for the Equifax breach?
As a result, consumers who were affected by the breach had the option of signing up for either up to $125 or free credit monitoring at all three of the largest credit reporting firms: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. (Consumers who sought cash payments should visit the settlement claims administrator’s website for updates, Equifax told CNBC.)
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How much will Equifax settlement be?
$425 millionEquifax will pay up to $425 million in restitution to those directly impacted by the massive data breach of the credit bureau in 2017. A federal court gave final approval to the class-action lawsuit settlement in mid-January.
Has Equifax settlement been paid?
Equifax data breach settlement. In 2017, Equifax announced a breach that exposed the personal data of approximately 147 million people. The legal settlement is now final. Here's how you can use the services provided through the settlement to protect and monitor your credit.
Will I get $125 from Equifax?
If you asked for money If you requested compensation of up to $125 or reimbursement for time spent recovering from fraud or ID theft, a check or debit card will be mailed to the address you used when submitting your claim. Be prepared for compensation that is much less than you requested.
Has anyone received money from Equifax breach?
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 do I know if I get Equifax settlement?
If you made a valid claim for Credit Monitoring Services, you will receive an email from the Equifax Data Breach Settlement Administrator (from the email address [email protected]) by February 25, 2022 providing you with information on how to activate your credit monitoring.
How to check on my Equifax claim?
You can also log into your myEquifax account and view your status by clicking the “check status of a dispute” button. If you are checking your status by mail or phone, please make sure you have the confirmation number that was provided to you when you submitted your dispute.
Is Equifax being sued?
In 2017, hackers broke into Equifax in a breach that exposed the financial information of 147 million Americans. A federal court in 2020 approved a $380 million settlement of class actions lawsuits, with no finding or judgment of wrongdoing made.
How much can you get from a data breach settlement?
Cash payments. 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.
What happened to Equifax after the data breach?
In the wake of Equifax's 2017 data breach, which compromised the personal information of roughly 147 million consumers — including names, birthdates and Social Security numbers — the company ended up as the target of multiple lawsuits and reached a settlement in 2019 with the FTC, the Consumer Financial Protection ...
How long does a data breach claim take?
In reality, how long a data breach claim takes simply comes down to the circumstances of the case. Some cases could be resolved in a few months, whereas others may end up being pursued for several years.
How do I get money from Equifax?
To get free credit monitoring or a cash payment (or both), you must submit a claim: online at EquifaxBreachSettlement.com, or. through the mail. (Send your claim to Equifax Data Breach Settlement Administrator, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91318, Seattle, WA 98111-9418).
Can I sue Equifax?
You can sue Equifax, but you may need to take certain steps depending on the reason. Suing Equifax requires that Equifax did something wrong like Equifax reporting you as dead, Equifax mixed you up with someone else, Equifax refused victim's rights with identity theft, or failed to investigate a credit error.
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.
If you signed up for the Equifax Breach Settlement, activate your benefit online
Jim Probasco has 30+ years of experience writing for online, print, radio, and television media, including PBS. His expertise includes government programs and policy, retirement planning, insurance, family finance, home ownership and loans. He has a bachelor's from Ohio University and Master's from Wright State University in music education.
Who's a Settlement Class Member?
A settlement class member of the Equifax breach is any one of the 147 million people impacted by the breach—i.e., who had their information stolen. If you are unsure of your status, the settlement administrator has a tool to check your status as a class member on the Equifax Data Breach Settlement website.
Who's an Eligible Claimant?
If you submitted a claim and opted for free Credit Monitoring Services during the Initial Claims Period, which ended Jan. 22, 2020, you are eligible for free credit monitoring for four years, as well as other benefits and coverage that will be explained to you when you sign up for your membership.
How to Sign Up for Free Credit Monitoring
By Feb. 25, 2022, all valid claimants will receive a letter or email from the settlement administrator that will include an activation code. 7 You will be instructed to go to the Experian IdentityWorks website and enter your activation code by June 27, 2022 to begin your free four-year membership. 2
How to Avoid a Scam
For every legitimate offer of free services, there are likely hundreds of scams. The Equifax settlement will be no different. Keep the following things in mind when evaluating any communications you receive: 3
Extended Claims Period
Although the deadline for settlement class members to file an Initial Claims Period claim passed on Jan. 22, 2020, class members may submit reimbursement claims for Out of Pocket Expenses and/or Time Spent for the Extended Claims Period (Jan. 23, 2020 through Jan. 22, 2024. 7
Free Identity Restoration Services
If you are a settlement class member, you are entitled to at least 7 years of free assisted identity restoration services beginning Jan. 11, 2022, to help you remedy the effects of identity theft and fraud. 7
What happens if you are impacted by Equifax?
If you were impacted by the Equifax data breach, you may seek reimbursement for valid Out of Pocket losses or Time Spent (excluding losses of money and time associated with freezing or unfreezing credit reports or purchasing credit monitoring or identity theft protection) incurred during the Extended Claims Period if you have not received reimbursement for the claimed loss through other means.
When is the deadline to file a claim against Equifax?
The deadline to file a claim for Out-of-Pocket Losses or Time Spent that occurred through January 22, 2020 has passed.
When is the deadline for Equifax?
If you are a class member, the deadline to file Initial Claims Period claim (s) for free credit monitoring or up to $125 cash payment and other cash reimbursement passed on January 22, 2020.
When is the extended claim period for credit monitoring?
You may seek reimbursement for valid Out-of-Pocket Losses or Time Spent (excluding losses of money and time associated with freezing or unfreezing credit reports or purchasing credit monitoring or identity theft protection) incurred during the Extended Claims Period (between January 23, 2020 and January 22, 2024) if you have not received reimbursement for the claimed loss through other means.
Is the Equifax settlement final?
By order of the Court, the Settlement cannot become final until the appeals of the remaining objectors are resolved. In September of 2017, Equifax announced it experienced a data breach, which impacted the personal information of approximately 147 million people.
When is the extended claim period for out of pocket loss?
To be eligible, your claim for Out-of-Pocket Losses or Time Spent must occur between January 23, 2020 and January 22, 20 24(the “Extended Claims Period”).
When did the settlement get final approval?
Important Update: The Settlement received final approval from the Court on January 13, 2020. You may review the Final Approval Order and Final Order and Judgment by clicking here. The Court gave final approval to the Settlement and overruled all objections on January 13, 2020. However, some objectors have now appealed the Court’s decision ...
Claim
The Equifax compensation settlement reported in July 2019 was authentic and potentially allowed members of the public to claim monetary benefits.
Origin
In July 2019, several readers contacted Snopes to inquire about the authenticity of a class-action settlement involving the credit-reporting agency Equifax, in light of multiple social media posts and news articles. In particular, Time magazine’s widely shared report bore the headline “Equifax Might Owe You $125 for Its Massive Breach.
How much did Equifax leak in 2017?
Remember the mega hack of Equifax in 2017 that hit 147 million people across the world? The credit monitoring company has finally settled with the Federal Trade Commission over its failings that led to the huge leak for $575 million, possibly rising to $700 million, it was confirmed Monday.
Who laid into Equifax?
New York Attorney General Letitia James laid into Equifax saying it “put profits over privacy and greed over people, and must be held accountable to the millions of people they put at risk.”
How much is Facebook fined?
The $700 million max fine is significantly lower than the $5 billion fine Facebook is expected to receive over the Cambridge Analytica data privacy mishaps, which affected hundreds of millions fewer people. Some critics saw the Facebook fine as weak. The social media giant's rising stock price following the penalty provided a good indication those critics were right.
Did Equifax patch its systems?
According to the FTC, Equifax was guilty of an age-old failure in IT: not patching its systems. In particular, the company didn’t properly patch the Automated Consumer Interview System, a database that deals with inquiries about personal credit data. As a result, multiple hackers were able to break into the database. From there, the criminals were able to find log-ins for other Equifax systems. Those log-ins were not encrypted and so usable on other parts of the Equifax network immediately.
How much is Equifax fined?
However, the fine amounts to as much as 20% of Equifax’s 2018 revenue of $3.41 billion. U.K. authorities already issued its maximum penalty of £500,000 — about $624,000 — under its since-replaced legislation. Under the new GDPR rules, which had not come into effect at the time of the Equifax breach, the credit rating agency would’ve been liable ...
How much did Equifax pay for data breach?
camera. Image Credits: Getty Images. Credit agency Equifax will pay up to $700 million in fines as part of a settlement with federal authorities over a data breach in 2017. The Federal Trade Commission said in a statement Monday that Equifax has agreed to initially pay at least $575 million in fines as part of the settlement with ...
How often does Equifax have to do third party assessments?
Equifax will also have to undergo third-party assessments every two years. A year after the breach was disclosed, the company was criticized for facing few consequences as a result of exposing its customers’ data, despite delays in disclosing the breach and bungling the response for consumers.
What is the second lawsuit against Google?
A group of 37 attorneys general filed a second major multi-state antitrust lawsuit against Google Wednesday, accusing the company of abusing its market power to stifle competitors and forcing consu...
Does Equifax have to improve its security?
As part of the settlement, Equifax will also have to improve its data security going forward, said Joe Simons, FTC chairman, including designating staff to oversee its information security program.
Did Equifax release patches?
The company came under fire by congressional committees and security experts alike after it was found that Equifax had not properly rolled out publicly released patches on its network months prior to the data breach.
Who is the spokesperson for Equifax?
When reached, Equifax spokesperson Wyatt Jefferies did not comment beyond a company statement.
What is the settlement for Equifax?
The settlement requires Equifax to strengthen its digital security defenses through steps like improved patching procedures, network segmentation, and access controls. But these are steps Equifax has already claimed to be taking in the wake of its breach.
How much was Equifax fined?
Warner points out that under the Data Breach Prevention and Compensation Act, reintroduced in May, Equifax would have been fined $1.5 billion for its breach based on both the number of impacted people and amount of personally identifying information involved.
What happened to Equifax in 2017?
Hackers infiltrated the company's systems at the end of May 2017, and eventually exfiltrated personal and financial information from more than 147 million US consumers , including Social Security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses, and some driver's license and credit card numbers. Other massive corporate breaches have exposed more total records, and subsequent breaches like the Marriott hack have come close to the severity of the Equifax incident. But none has matched the significance and impact of the Equifax breach.
How much was Equifax fined for cybersecurity breach?
Warner points out that under the Data Breach Prevention and Compensation Act, reintroduced in May, Equifax would have been fined $1.5 billion for its breach based on both the number of impacted people and amount of personally identifying information involved.
What states are excluded from the Equifax settlement?
Only Indiana and Massachusetts are excluded from Monday's settlement, because each filed its own additional lawsuit against Equifax. The company could ultimately owe more in those states. But Monday's payout includes $175 million for the included states, a $100 million CFPB fine, and $300 million to compensate consumers for damages related to the breach, with a requirement to add $125 million more in restitution if needed. Equifax will also provide US consumers with six free credit reports per year, in addition to the one it already offers, for seven years, and will provide additional free credit monitoring to victims of its breach.
How much did Uber pay for Equifax?
The settlement is a record-breaking fine in the US for a data mishap; for its 2016 breach, Uber paid $148 million. The state and federal groups that investigated Equifax touted the payout as an important wake-up call for all US corporations—especially since Equifax will also be required to make hundreds of millions of dollars of additional internal cybersecurity improvements on top of the fines. Given the massive scope and scale of the Equifax breach, though, and compared with the $5 billion data mishandling fine the FTC levied against Facebook two weeks ago, the scale of the Equifax settlement struck many observers as insufficient.
How many free credit reports does Equifax have?
Equifax will also provide US consumers with six free credit reports per year, in addition to the one it already offers, for seven years, and will provide additional free credit monitoring to victims of its breach. The settlement closes a chapter in Equifax's checkered response to its massive breach. Hackers infiltrated the company's systems ...
