Consumers can now check their exposure and file claims in the Equifax consumer data breach settlement.
Under a settlement reached Monday with states and federal regulators, Equifax has agreed to pay at least $700 million to settle lawsuits over a 2017 data breach that exposed the Social Security numbers and similar sensitive information of roughly half of the U.S. population.
About 2.9 million Arizona residents are believed to be affected by the breach and may apply for restitution. The state of Arizona is in line to receive $3.5 million of the $175 million Equifax has agreed to pay the states.
The credit-rating giant has set up an online tool where consumers can quickly check if their data was exposed and they are eligible for compensation, at www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com (scroll down to “Find out if your information was impacted”).
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The online form asks for your name and the last six digits of your social security number and returns a result in seconds.
Eligible consumers can file claims via the same website to cover out-of-pocket expenses, credit-monitoring services and “identity restoration” services.
Equifax has agreed to initially pay $380.5 million into a fund to cover identity theft resulting from the breach, as well as any costs related to credit monitoring. The company will pay an additional $125 million if victims’ out-of-pocket expenses deplete the initial fund.
Should all 147 million victims sign up for credit monitoring services, Equifax could potentially be on the hook for $2 billion.
Equifax will offer victims of the breach free credit monitoring services for up to 10 years, identity-restoration services for seven years, and six Equifax credit reports annually for the next seven years.
Victims can also seek up to $125 as a reimbursement for the cost of a credit-monitoring product of their choice.