By now you’ve likely heard about the massive Equifax data breach that exposed roughly 150 million people. As we reported last week, the company will pay out about $700 Million in damages to the individuals and the states affected. Many sensitive details were exposed by the cyber criminals. Names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and the numbers of some driver’s licenses. And for about 209,000 U.S. customers, credit card numbers were stolen as well. It’s one of the biggest breaches in history, and it should be treated as such. We want to ensure that our community knows how to check if they were affected by the breach, and how to file a claim to get compensated.
How to Check if You Were Affected:
- Head to https://eligibility.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/en/eligibility.
- Enter your last name and the last six digits of your social security number.
- Click Submit.
How to File a Claim
- Head to https://www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/file-a-claim.
- Enter your information.
- Choose Option 1 or Option 2. Option 1 will help you set up free credit monitoring. Option 2 will help you receive a cash payment of up to $125.Both options will then ask you if you’ve spent time dealing with identity theft or fraud as a result of the breach. If you have, you can be compensated up to $25 per hour for up to 20 hours of labor spent dealing with those issues.
- Lastly, review your information. Sign your name and click Submit.
- Considering how many people were affected, it’s very likely that you were one of them. We strongly advise you look into it, as it’s always better to be safe than sorry in these situations. Equifax knows they messed up, and that’s why they’ve made it incredibly easy to check if you were affected and get reimbursed if that’s the case. It’s not taking advantage if you’re taking back what’s rightfully yours.
…
Was this BIGinsight helpful? Leave us a comment below.
BIGinsight brings you tips on data privacy and how to best manage your data everywhere.