Equifax Data Breach Settlement update released by the FTC. The settlement administrator starts examining current claims for time spent and out-of-pocket damages.
How much is the Equifax Settlement per person? How to get compensation? What is the administrator’s email? What is the compensation amount? Has anyone received money from Equifax Settlement? How do I check the status of my Equifax Settlement? We explained everything about the Equifax Data Breach Settlement in this article.
Equifax Data Breach Settlement 2022
What is the Equifax Data breach settlement amount? Up to $425 million of the settlement would be used to assist those impacted by the data leak. Equifax Data Breach occurred five years ago.
On September 7, 2017, the credit reporting agency Equifax admitted that one of its computer networks had experienced a data leak that exposed the personal data of 143 million customers, which later increased to 147 million. Customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and credit card numbers were all contained in that data, which could be used in identity theft and other types of fraud.
According to the settlement terms, Equifax agreed to create a fund to offer clients free credit monitoring, identity theft protection, and cash payouts of up to $20,000 apiece to those impacted by the incident. The business must additionally pay court costs and fines from the government.
How much is the Equifax Settlement per person 2022? Consumers have a choice of up to $125 or free credit monitoring.
You are eligible to get free credit monitoring services under the terms of the settlement. You’ll receive up to six more years of free one-bureau credit monitoring from Equifax and at least four years of credit monitoring at each of the three main agencies through Experian, as well as $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance. You are qualified for a total of 18 years of free credit monitoring if you were minor in May 2017. For detailed information, check out the FTC announcement.
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Federal protections for consumer data have largely not changed since the Equifax attack.
Equifax Data Breach Settlement email
The Equifax Breach Settlement Administrator, [email protected], will be the source of official emails about the settlement.
The settlement administrator is now examining time and out-of-pocket loss claims. The administrator will email or write to you if more details are required for your claim. To provide additional payment choices, the settlement administrator also emails those eligible for a settlement payment.
Equifax Data Breach Settlement: How to get the compensation?
- You must claim to be eligible for either free credit monitoring or a cash payout (or both). You can submit a claim online or by email.
Your claim for Out-of-Pocket Losses or Time Spent must be made during the “Extended Claims Period,” which runs from January 23, 2020, through January 22, 2024.
Equifax Data Breach Settlement amount
The Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and all 50 states and U.S. territories have reached a global settlement with Equifax. Up to $425 million of the settlement would be used to assist those impacted by the data leak.
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How much is the Equifax Settlement per person 2022?
Since so many people submitted claims, it’s probable that you’ll get far less money than the $125 cap on individual cash payments.
Has anyone received money from Equifax Settlement?
The payment has not yet begun, so no. Claims must be filed by January 22, 2024. Payout will start after this date. Due to the large number of claims, you will probably get much less money than the $125 maximum for individual cash payouts.
Equifax Data Breach Settlement payout date
Claims are due by January 22, 2024. Payout will start after this date.
How do I check the status of my Equifax Settlement?
Cash reimbursement claims that were submitted prior to the deadline of January 22, 2022, are already being handled (to repay money you lost or pay for the time you spent recovering). Visit EquifaxBreachSettlement.com for more information and to verify the progress of your claim.
After January 22, 2022, those who were impacted by the Equifax data leak may still request financial compensation for expenses incurred or time spent battling fraud or identity theft. By January 22, 2024, claims must be submitted.
Equifax settlement timeline
- July 2019: Equifax had agreed to pay at least $575 million and maybe up to $700 million, according to the FTC.
- January 2020: The court gives final approval to the settlement.
- Amount of actual settlement: $425 million (Equifax Breach Settlement)
- January 2022: Settlement completed (FTC)
- February 2022: The settlement administrator delivers activation codes to qualified customers who choose free credit monitoring services.
- Fall 2022: Benefits for eligible out-of-pocket expenses associated with the breach or identity theft resulting from the breach, as well as time spent (up to 20 hours) regaining control over the data breach, begin to be distributed to customers by the settlement administrator. Anyone who has financial loss due to identity theft may be eligible to earn up to $20,000. Breach Settlement with Equifax
What is Equifax?
One of the three biggest consumer credit reporting companies, together with Experian and TransUnion, is Equifax Inc., an American multinational company with its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (together known as the “Big Three”).
Equifax gathers and combines data on more than 88 million organizations and over 800 million individual consumers worldwide. Equifax offers credit monitoring and fraud prevention services directly to individuals and provides businesses with demographic and credit data and services.
Equifax operates or has financial interests in 24 nations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Equifax, which has more than 10,000 employees globally and generates US$3.1 billion in yearly revenue, is listed on the NYSE under the name EFX.
Data breaches in the U.S.
| NUMBER OF BREACHES | NUMBER OF PEOPLE AFFECTED* |
|---|---|
| 1,506 | 1.825 billion |
| 1,175 | 2.228 billion |
| 1,279 | 883.56 million |
| 1,108 | 310.12 million |
| 1,862 | 298.1 million |
| 817 | 53.35 million |
Biggest data breaches in the U.S.
| AFFECTED ENTITY | DATE REPORTED | NUMBER OF VICTIMS |
|---|---|---|
| River City Media | March 2017 | 1.37 billion |
| Yahoo | December 2016 | 1 billion |
| Yahoo | December 2016 | 1 billion |
| Yahoo | September 2016 | 500 million |
| Veeam | September 2018 | 445 million |
| Marriott | November 2018 | 383 million |
| Exactis | June 2018 | 340 million |
| Zynga | September 2019 | 218 million |
| Deep Root Analytics | June 2017 | 200 million |
| Dubsmash | February 2019 | 161.55 million |
| Equifax | September 2017 | 146.6 million |
| MyFitnessPal | March 2018 | 143.61 million |
| Heartland Payment Systems | January 2009 | 130 million |
| Apollo | October 2018 | 125.93 million |
| Tetrad Computer Applications | February 2020 | 120 million |
How to protect yourself from a data breach?
Check out these solutions to learn how to protect yourself from a data breach:
- Understand who is gathering your data and what they plan to do with it.
- Make each online account’s login and password different and challenging to guess.
- Never disclose your login information or passwords to someone you don’t totally trust.
- Stop credit reporting.
- You should add a fraud alert to your credit report.
- Implement two-factor authentication.
Is bulletproof cybersecurity possible?
Unfortunately no. The credit agency has invested $1.6 billion in improving its cybersecurity defenses since the September 2017 announcement of the Equifax data hack. Consumer data stored by Equifax and the two other major credit bureaus, Experian and TransUnion, is still subject to breaches five years later.
While the majority of the responsibility for preventing data breaches lies with the organizations that collect and store our data, taking the above precautions will help you protect your own information and, hopefully, keep you from becoming a victim of a data breach.
