Equifax is reportedly close to reaching a $700 million settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission and other government agencies over its massive data breach in 2017. The money would also go towards resolving a consumer class-action lawsuit against the company, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday afternoon.
Full Answer
What does Equifax's $700 million settlement mean for You?
On Monday, Equifax agreed to pay $700 million to settle federal and state investigations into how it handled a massive data breach that affected nearly 150 million people, about 56% of Americans.
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.
How much will the Equifax data breach settlement cost you?
As part of that $20,000 restitution, consumers can submit claims for any time they had to spend dealing with data breach — $25 per hour, up to 20 hours, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The claims process has not opened yet, but you can sign up for email notifications about the Equifax settlement from the FTC.
What is the deadline to file a claim in the Equifax settlement?
The initial deadline to file a claim in the Equifax settlement was January 22, 2020. After January 22, 2020, you can still file a claim for expenses you incur between January 23, 2020, and January 22, 2024, as a result of identity theft or fraud related to the breach, such as:
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What happened to the Equifax settlement Payments?
You filed a claim in the Equifax Data Breach Settlement and chose to receive free, three-bureau (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) credit monitoring from Experian for four years. Implementation of the Settlement was delayed by appeals; however, the Settlement is now effective because appellate courts have affirmed it.
What happened to the lawsuit against Equifax?
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.
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 much will each person get from Equifax settlement?
Under the settlement terms, Equifax agreed to set up a fund to provide free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to consumers, as well as provide cash payments to people affected by the breach—up to $20,000 per person.
Where is my Equifax settlement check?
EquifaxBreachSettlement.comStatus 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.
Should I cash a class action settlement check?
People have mixed feelings about class-action suits, and whether you cash class-action refund checks is up to you. Generally, if you get one, you probably paid a lot more in wrongful fees than you're getting back in the settlement. If you don't cash the check, the money may go back to the company.
How much was the Equifax settlement?
$425 millionEquifax data breach class action lawsuit settlement updates: On June 3, 2021, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the $425 million Equifax data breach settlement.
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.
Who qualifies for 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 money did Equifax lose in 2017?
Overall, the breach cost Equifax more than $1.7 billion since it was first disclosed in 2017. According to Equifax, at the time of the breach, the company had $125 million in cybersecurity insurance coverage. The company has long since received the maximum reimbursement of $125 million on that insurance policy.
Who was responsible for the Equifax data breach?
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury in Atlanta delivered a nine-count indictment accusing four hackers and members of China's People's Liberation Army – Wu Zhiyong, Wang Qian, Xu Ke and Liu Lei – of serving as masterminds of the hack.
Can you sue Equifax for the data breach?
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.
Why do I have to pay for my FICO score?
The fee is a gift to credit scoring companies like Fair Isaac, Choicepoint, TransUnion and Vantage. They don't need the dough; they already collect zillions of dollars from banks, car dealerships and other lenders who buy your score to make sure they're charging you enough to offset their risk.
What was the communication issue involving Equifax and the consumers?
Consumer credit reporting agency Equifax announced late Thursday hackers had breached some of its website application software, potentially affecting the sensitive personal information of approximately 143 million consumers.
When did Equifax send out wrong scores?
Equifax, one of the nation's three major consumer credit bureaus, says it issued inaccurate credit scores to lenders during a three-week period from March 17 and April 6, 2022, due to what the company describes as a coding issue.
How long does the Equifax settlement last?
Additionally, the settlement allows for seven years of free assisted identity restoration service to help you fix any fraud or identity theft issues caused by the breach.
How many consumers were affected by the Equifax breach?
The Equifax data breach was one of the largest in history. The company announced the data breach in September 2017, eventually reporting that 147 million consumers were affected.
How much can you claim for a credit breach?
According to Equifax, individual consumers will be able to claim up to $20,000 for any losses or fraud caused by the breach or any out-of-pocket expenses they may have incurred, such as buying credit monitoring services or paying to freeze and unfreeze their credit reports. As part of that $20,000 restitution, consumers can submit claims for any time they had to spend dealing with data breach — $25 per hour, up to 20 hours, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
How much did Equifax pay for the data breach?
On Monday, Equifax agreed to pay $700 million to settle federal and state investigations into how it handled a massive data breach that affected nearly 150 million people, about 56% of Americans.
How much time can you spend on a data breach?
As part of that $20,000 restitution, consumers can submit claims for any time they had to spend dealing with data breach — $25 per hour, up to 20 hours, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The claims process has not opened yet, but you can sign up for email notifications about the Equifax settlement from the FTC.
Did Equifax have a vulnerability?
During the investigation into the breach, Equifax admitted the company was informed in March that hackers could exploit a vulnerability in its system, but failed to install the necessary patches.
How much did Equifax spend on data security?
Equifax also promises to spend $25 million on strengthening its data security and will pay the administrative and legal costs for the banks involved in the settlement. Granted, most individuals will see very little money from the settlement, if any.
Will Equifax pay you $125?
You’re probably not going to get your $125 from the Equifax settlement. Equifax is indeed paying out right now—but not to you. Instead, the company has finally agreed to pay the banks ( PDF) for the inconvenience of having to cancel and reissue millions of credit and debit cards, The Register points out.