CNN: Equifax will pay up to $700 million to settle investigations over its data breach. Claim Money.

[TheBlackAdder]

.

OK, here's the info that's circulating across all the major news sites about Equifax's 2017 Breach. I chose CNN.

If you're among the 147 million Americans whose credit data was compromised in the 2017 Equifax data breach, read on. You may be eligible for compensation.

The Federal Trade Commission ruled Monday that credit reporting agency Equifax will have to pay up to $700 million in individual compensation and civil penalties because of the hack.

According to the commission's online claims process, those whose personal information was exposed can get free credit monitoring for 10 years: four years via the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) and six years specifically through Equifax.

If you already have credit monitoring, you can choose to receive $125.

For those who had to spend time and money as a result of the breach, Equifax can provide larger sums, up to $20,000.
According to the FTC, those losses can include unauthorized charges on your accounts, attorney or accountant fees, the cost of freezing or unfreezing your credit report, or the cost of credit monitoring.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/us/equifax-700-million-settlement-data-breach-trnd/index.html

Here's the FTC link to file a claim:

External Disclaimer

You are now leaving the official Federal Trade Commission website. You are about to access:

https://www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/file-a-claim

The Federal Trade Commission does not endorse the organizations or views represented by this site and takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over, the accuracy, accessibility, copyright or trademark compliance or legality of the material contained on this site. The destination site’s privacy policy, if any, will govern while accessing this site. To learn more about how we protect your privacy on FTC.gov, read our Privacy Policy.

https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/equifax-data-breach-settlement

This resolves to the following:

https://www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/file-a-claim


Here's the main URL for this to also check if you were impacted: https://www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/


I was. That horse left the barn 2 years ago.

I don't have credit monitoring, but do I really want the one who got me into this mess to watch my accounts?


Here's the FAQs. https://www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/faq

.

[dawg day]

1. If you're eligible (and probably half of US adults are)-

you can opt for $125 rather than free monitoring (check won't arrive till January). No questions asked, except contact info and all that (which they'll already have, obv, so no worries ;0.)

Tell your family and friends. You can also claim up to 9 hours at $20 an hour if you can list actions you had to take (like cancelling a credit card and applying for a new one, or constantly checking your credit report) because of these breaches. (Over 10 hours, they want documentation like letters you sent or reports you filed.) Almost everyone in my group turned out to be eligible.

Stick it to them. Hard. And when we all get the checks in January, we can pay off some holiday debt.

[TheBlackAdder]

2. I opted for the 10 years of credit monitoring.

[ecstatic]

7. I will do that! Also, I use credit karma now,

so I don't need nor do I want Equifax's shitty monitoring service.

[customerserviceguy]

3. The "settlement"

anticipates a fraction of one percent of the people that were screwed will look for their share. I'm sure the lawyers are guaranteed their usual millions on this class-action lawsuit.

[TheBlackAdder]

5. Yep, and I'll be one of few--a 10-year albatross around the necks of Equifax.

[customerserviceguy]

12. What should have happened

is that all of the banksters that use them should have quit them, they'd be out of business within a year. Why do we need three credit bureaus that all do the same thing, only with one of them doing it very badly?

[Amishman]

4. I'll take the cash

The credit monitoring through by credit card is more than sufficient

[lindysalsagal]

6. Did mine.

But I was in no real danger since I've frozen all 3 credit companies. No one gets to use my credit. Period.

And I have no online access to my accounts. No no one else does, either.

And I almost never use my debit card, except in extremely safe, indoor, employee-staffed places.

The "Watching" won't help after they get your accounts. Get yours frozen.

Credit cards are guaranteed by law, but debits are not.

[ecstatic]

8. Yeah, I froze all mine after that (which was shortly after the anthem

breach, which also compromised my info).

[lindysalsagal]

9. Feels good, doesn't it? I froze mine when I heard they take out lines of credit you don't know abou

about until it's years overdue, and a collection agency sends a detective to trace it. They send the bills to themselves so you never even knew they did it. That's what really pushed me over the edge. Damn.

So, even if somehow, and I don't know how you would, you can undo that, your credit is still doomed because all the businesses who reported you as delinquent (including auto pay, if they empty your account and it tries to pay bills from an empty account) do so automatically. It's all hard-wired, and they really don't know how to fix it. With everything automated, you're totally screwed.

Now when I travel abroad I buy the debit cards from AAA. You put money in that account and you leave your own account at home, safe and sound. She's saying, "Please check the fees involved before you sign" and I'm like, "Peace of mind, lady. Give me the pen."

I've been robbed overseas (you never notice the hand in your pocket on a crowded bus) and it's not any fun, even if they don't get your money. You now have nothing to finish your trip with!

[TheBlackAdder]

10. Thanks. I think it's tme to freeze mine.

[lindysalsagal]

11. Clark Howard.com. I did mine snail mail, and I get a phone code to thaw it for the

number of days I choose: $10 per thaw. Good insurance.