Equifax is giving at least $125 to 147 million Americans - here's how to claim your money
1. First, head to the website.
2. Perhaps you're wondering if you've been affected by the data breach? You can fully check that, instantly, using this tool:
By entering in the last six numbers of your Social Security number and your last name, you can find out instantly whether or not your personal information was breached in the 2017 hack — that's on this section of the website right here.
As you can see above, my data was in fact breached.
3. If your data was breached, filling out a claim is pretty simple.
Understandably, you might be reticent to hand over a bunch of personal information to Equifax given the context of this situation. But don't worry: The company handling this settlement payout isn't Equifax, but a third-party named JND Legal Administration.
The company describes its work as, "providing the most responsive, trustworthy, and comprehensive legal administrative service in the country."
4. After filling out your data, you'll need to make a few choices as to what you'd like from the settlement.
One option is free credit monitoring. But, given what precipitated this settlement in the first place, you're probably not looking for free credit monitoring from Equifax. If you are? Go right ahead and choose that!
The second option, however, is money: $125.
5. But the $125 is just the starting point. There are additional financial claims available, but they require more proof on your part.
Did the Equifax breach eat up a bunch of your time because, say, your identity was stolen? Or perhaps you spent a bunch of time trying to figure out where your data went? Or maybe something else entirely!
If you spent any amount of time "trying to recover from fraud or identity theft caused by the data breach," or time trying to enact preventative measures (like freezing your credit), you can also receive compensation for this from Equifax. Any time up to 10 hours requires an explanation, and any time beyond 10 hours requires documentation — at $25/hour, with a maximum of 20 hours, you're looking at a potential maximum payout of $500 for time spent.
6. There's one final way to receive additional money in the settlement from Equifax: As repayment for money you spent recovering from the breach.
This is where documentation becomes especially important, as you'll need to submit receipts for whatever you spent in order to receive compensation. The maximum payout for this section is $20,000.
7. Print your records!
Despite the fact that the settlement website asks for a bunch of personal information, including an email address, I received no receipt of having processed my settlement claim. I did, however, get a printable form that I was able to save to my computer — most importantly, this form included a settlement claim number. Make sure you keep it!
Claims can only be made through January 22, 2020 at the settlement website.
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