Image: Chris Kindred/Motherboard
In September of 2017 credit monitoring service Equifax announced thata massive, avoidable data breachhad exposed the personal financial data of 147 million people. This week the company struck a major deal with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that could result in a modest payout for impacted consumers.According to theFTC announcementandorder, the settlement will result in Equifax paying between $575 and $700 million to settle charges brought by the FTC. $380 million of that total will be assigned to a Consumer Restitution Fund and doled out directly to consumers.Here’s how to get your cut:
Advertisement
- First, head to this settlement website to determine if your data was exposed. Users will have to enter their last name and last six digits of their social security number to confirm they were part of the breach.
- If you were one of the 147 million impacted Americans, you’ll need to either file a claim online or print this form and mail it in by January 22, 2020. You’ll be able to request either a one-time $125 payout, or 10 years of free credit reporting—assuming you want anything to do with a company that couldn’t protect your personal data in the first place.
- Note that you’ll need a special form if you were technically a minor at the time that the breach occurred (May 2017). Minors will be able to net 18 years of free credit reporting.
- Consumers may be able to get up to $20,000 if they can provide evidence that the leak of their financial data resulted in "fraud, identity theft, or other alleged misuse of your personal information fairly traceable to the data breach,” the settlement website states. You’ll need to provide a police report, IRS, or bank letter, and may be reimbursed to the tune of “$25 per hour for up to 20 hours” if you’ve spent any time trying to resolve identity theft damage.