In September of 2017, Equifax announced a data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people. The company has agreed to a global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 U.S. states and territories. The settlement includes up to $425 million to help people affected by the data breach.

If your information was exposed in the data breach, you can file a claim at EquifaxBreachSettlement.com for the benefits described below.

Not sure if your information was exposed? Use this look-up tool to see.

You can file a claim for:

Free Credit Monitoring and Identity Theft Protection Services

• Up to 10 years of free credit monitoring. (Previously, a cash payment was identified as an option, but there are limited funds available. See FAQ 5 for details.) The free credit monitoring includes:

• • At least four years of free monitoring of your credit report at all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and $1,000,000 of identity theft insurance.
  • Up to six more years of free monitoring of your Equifax credit report.
  • If you were a minor in May 2017, you are eligible for a total of 18 years of free credit monitoring.

Cash Payments (capped at $20,000 per person)

• For expenses you paid as a result of the breach, like:
  • Losses from unauthorized charges to your accounts
  • The cost of freezing or unfreezing your credit report
  • The cost of credit monitoring
  • Fees you paid to professionals like an accountant or attorney
  • Other expenses like notary fees, document shipping fees and postage, mileage, and phone charges
• For the time you spent dealing with the breach. You can be compensated $25 per hour up to 20 hours. There are limited funds available so your claim may be reduced. See FAQ 7 for more details.
  • If you submit a claim for 10 hours or less, you must describe the actions you took and the time you spent doing those things.
  • If you claim more than 10 hours, you must describe the actions you took AND provide documents that show identity theft, fraud, or other misuse of your information.
• For the cost of Equifax credit monitoring and related services you had between September 7, 2016, and September 7, 2017, capped at 25 percent of the total amount you paid.

Even if you do not file a claim, you can get:

Free Help Recovering from Identity Theft

For at least seven years, you can get free identity restoration services. If you discover misuse of your personal information, call the settlement administrator at 1-833-759-2982. You will be given instructions for how to access free identity restoration services.

Free Credit Reports for All U.S. Consumers

Starting in 2020, all U.S. consumers can get 6 free credit reports per year for 7 years from the Equifax website. That’s in addition to the one free Equifax report (plus your Experian and TransUnion reports) you can get at AnnualCreditReport.com. Sign up for email updates to get a reminder in early 2020.

FAQS

1. When will the claims process start?
The claims process has started. File a claim by January 22, 2020

2. What is the deadline to file a claim?
You must file a claim by January 22, 2020.

3. When will I get my benefits?
The settlement administrator will not send out any benefits until they are allowed to do so by the court, which will be January 23, 2020, at the earliest. We will update this page, and send email updates, when we have more information.

4. How will I get my benefits?
For free credit monitoring, after final approval from the court, you will get an activation code with instructions. You can choose to receive this code by email or postal mail when you file your claim.

For cash payments, you can choose to get a check or debit card when you file your claim. It will be sent to your mailing address after final approval from the court.

5. I thought I could choose $125 instead of free credit monitoring. What happened?
The public response to the settlement has been overwhelming. Millions of people have visited this site in just the first week. Because the total amount available for these alternative payments is $31 million, each person who takes the money option is going to get a very small amount. Nowhere near the $125 they could have gotten if there hadn’t been such an enormous number of claims filed.

The free credit monitoring provides a much better value, and everyone whose information was exposed can take advantage of it. If your information was exposed in the data breach, and you file a valid claim before the deadline, you are guaranteed at least four years of free monitoring at all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and $1,000,000 of identity theft insurance, among other benefits. The market value of this product is hundreds of dollars per year.

You can still choose the cash option on the claim form, but you will be disappointed with the amount you receive and you won’t get the free credit monitoring.

6. I want to change my claim to get free credit monitoring instead of a cash payment. Can I do that?
Yes. The settlement administrator will be sending an email to people who already submitted a claim for the alternative cash payment. In that email, you will have the option to:

1) provide additional information OR

2) switch to free credit monitoring.

Wait for the email from the settlement administrator if you want to amend your claim form. The settlement administrator has said that the claims website will soon be updated with this information, too.

7. How much of the settlement fund can be used to pay claims for time spent dealing with the data breach?
During this initial claims period, a maximum of $31 million can be used to pay claims submitted for time spent dealing with the breach. If the settlement administrator receives valid claims for more than $31 million, then everyone with a valid claim for time spent will get an equal percentage of the amount they claimed.

8. I’m not sure I was affected by the data breach. How can I find out?
Use this look-up tool to see if you were affected by the breach.

9. What else can I do?
Sign up to get email updates about this settlement.
Bookmark and check this page for updates.
Visit www.EquifaxBreachSettlement.com or call 1-833-759-2982 for more information.