Back in 2017, Equifax suffered one of the largest data breaches ever seen, compromising the details of over 140 million of its customers.
Among the details that were taken, names, addresses, driving licences and social security numbers were all exposed. That’s not to mention a smaller portion who had their credit card information stolen, too.
The case was subject of a class action lawsuit, and while the original deadline for claims has passed, Equifax customers can still apply for compensation for certain expenses. Read on to find out how.
Extended Claims Period in Equifax Settlement
The Equifax breach of 2017 was shocking in its scale, with 147 million customers affected, and a huge mountain of data exposed, which included names, addresses, driving licences and social security numbers. Some users, around 200,000, even had credit card details exposed.
A settlement lawsuit was made against Equifax, and while the company was cleared of any wrong doing, it did agree to compensate customers who had been impacted by the breach.
When is the Deadline for Equifax Breach Settlement?
The original date for claims to be submitted under the settlement has long passed, and unless you’ve got a time machine and can travel back to January 22, 2020, you’re out of luck. Customers who got their claims in before this deadline were eligible for free credit monitoring, or $125 cash.
However, there is also an extended claims period, which runs to January 22 2024, meaning that even if you missed the original deadline, you could still be entitled to some compensation.
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Claims are still open for those who wish to be reimbursed for:
- Time spent during the extended claims period (January 23 2020 to January 22 2024), recovering from fraud or ID theft caused by the breach, for $25 an hour.
and/or
- Out of pocket losses during the extended claims period, as a result of the breach, up to $20,000.
How to Make an Equifax Settlement Claim – and Who is Eligible?
Anyone who was a victim of the original data breach is eligible. If you don’t know if you were affected, all you need is your surname and the last six digits of your social security number to find out. You can check via the tool on the settlement website.
To make a claim in the Equifax extended period settlement, simply head to the official Equifax Settlement website.
You’ll need to submit some information with your claim, depending on how you were affected. For example, if you suffered additional costs, expenses or losses due to the breach, you may be asked for police reports, IRS documents, FTC Identify Theft Reports, and letters refusing to refund you for fraudulent charges.
