Equifax breach: how do you know if you are eligible, file a claim and see how much you will get

If you were among the 147 million people whose data was exposed in 2017 Equifax Data Violationyou can now see if you are eligible to submit a claim and then deposit one to recover the money you have spent or lost as a result of the hack. The Federal Trade Commission said this week that Equifax has agreed to pay at least $ 575 million and up to $ 700 million to help compensate the victims of hackers who stole personal data from Equifax's servers. Payments under the settlement may cover the costs of recovering the security breach of the free credit badessment company, including theft of your identity and frozen and thawed accounts, as well as unauthorized charges on your account. You can also submit a claim to cover the cost of protection against identity theft, following the data breach by Equifax.

And even if you are not part of the violation and you can not file a claim, you can get free credit reports for seven years.

To begin, you can check if you and your information have been exposed as part of the breach. Then, if you were there, collect hack documents that show your expenses and losses. And finally, submit your claim for compensation. You have until January 22, 2020 to file.

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The violation resulted in hackers stealing social security numbers, addresses, credit card and driver's license information, birth dates, and other personal data stored on servers. 39; Equifax. As part of its investigation, the FTC alleged that the free credit bureau had not taken reasonable steps to secure its network.

Taking part in the Equifax settlement is not quite simple. The exact amount that Equifax will disburse is indeterminate. The proposed settlement will begin with a $ 300 million fund to compensate affected consumers who have purchased credit monitoring services. Equifax will also pay $ 175 million to states and districts – and $ 100 million to the Office of Consumer Financial Protection in civil penalties.

If the initial injection of $ 300 million does not adequately compensate consumers, according to the FTC, Equifax has agreed to pay an additional $ 125 million to the fund, for a possible total payment of $ 700 million. If you are an applicant, your share of the settlement could include free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. You may also be eligible for cash payments to cover expenses resulting from the violation – such as legal fees and credit monitoring – of free help to recover from identity theft and reports of theft. free credit for 10 years.

Here's how to participate in the rules.

Find out if you've been hit by the breach

If you want to check if your data has been exposed, the FTC and the official settlement site have an online tool that you can use to check if you are part of the breach by Equifax.

You will need to enter your last name and last six digits of your Social Security number to see if your data was part of the hack.

Prepare and submit your request

On the Equifax Data Breach Settlement website, you can now file a claim to recover the money that you have lost or used as a result of a large-scale hacking. Here's how to prepare and then submit a claim.

• To substantiate your claim, you must gather all the documents and receipts related to the violation to indicate the expenses that you had to recover from an identity theft, for example, as well as the money lost because of the violation.
• To follow the rules, the FTC suggests that you sign up to receive updates by email.
• You can also check the FTC Equifax Data Violation Policy page and the official data breach policy page for updates.
• And the FTC has a number that you can call – (833) 759-2982 – for updates.
• On the official settlement site, you file a claim online.
• You can also follow the instructions on the site to send your application by mail or receive an application form by mail.
• As part of the application process, you will select the benefits to which you are entitled and review the documents to support your application. Supporting documentation includes statements indicating unauthorized charges, the costs of freezing your account, fees paid to professionals to facilitate theft and other badociated costs.

What settlement payments can cover

The proposed agreement caps payments at $ 20,000 per person to cover the expenses you have spent to remedy the violation. Here are the costs and expenses you may be able to recover.

• Fees for unauthorized charges on your accounts
• Costs of freezing a credit report and monitoring credit
• Fees paid to accountants, lawyers and other professionals
• Postage, mileage, notary and other services
• Costs related to credit monitoring, up to $ 125.
• Cost of monitoring Equifax credit and other services for the year prior to the breach.

In addition, starting in 2020, Equifax will provide all US consumers – whether or not they are part of the settlement – six additional free credit reports per year for seven years, from their website.

When should I file a claim

The FTC has stated that you must submit your claim no later than January 22, 2020. The sooner you receive the benefits you are entitled to is January 23, 2020, the FTC said.

This is the information we currently know, with a lot of details to come. We will update this story as we learn more.