In 2017, nearly 150 million people had their financial information stolen in a data breach at Equifax. After negotiations with the Federal Trade Commission, Equifax will pay up to $425 million to people that were impacted. The Federal Trade Commission has created a website for those affected.
Unlike other settlements, it is up to individuals to follow a few steps before receiving any potential compensation. If your information was stolen and you incurred damage to your credit and spent time and money trying to repair it, you will have to provide details but could receive up to $20,000. For most, the information was hacked but has not actually been used. These people could receive a one-time payment of $125 if they have a credit monitoring service. If they do not have credit monitoring, their compensation could be up to 10 years of this service. It sounds more confusing and complicated than it is. One simple questionnaire will get you the information you need to make your decision.
Equifax came under fire after the breach. It took over five months between the discovery of the problem and a public confirmation of the issue. Also, several high ranking Equifax officials sold off millions of dollars of their personal stock before releasing details of the breach.
