Hey babies. You might have heard something about The Great Equifax Breach of 2017 and how it means all your money is getting stolen along with your identity. It’s scary shit. But rest assured, your humble Bitches are on the case. 

Here’s what you need to know right now:

Equifax is one of three companies that track your credit score by creating your credit report. They have access to your sensitive information like your full legal name, date of birth, SSN, and address, which they keep confidential.

Equifax got hacked between May and July of 2017 and lots of people’s confidential information was leaked to the hackers.

143 million Americans, and millions more in Canada and the UK, had their information leaked and are now vulnerable to identity theft. 

By stealing your identity, the hackers can:

Open credit cards and lines of credit in your name.

Get a driver’s license in your name.

Steal your tax return.

Steal your Social Security check and other government benefits.

Frame you for crimes like speeding.

Prevent you from getting your prescription medication.

Drain your bank accounts.

This is bad because your ability to build wealth and seek financial freedom is in large part determined by your access to credit and a secure place to put your money. 

Here’s what you can do to protect yourself or recover from the breach. 

Normally we would tell you not to freak out, but this is actually kind of huge. Find yourself a secure, encrypted Internet connection, and

check if your information was compromised

. Identity theft is no joke, and it can take literally years to recover. 

Dashit Just Happened, Equifax?

Because the horrendous disaster of two malicious hurricanes isn’t enough for people to worry about right now, a few weeks ago a storm of a different sort swept through the United States. Like those assholes Harvey and Irma, this one’s going to be an enormous, life-changing financial burden for millions of people. And like the hurricanes, it could take years to repair the damage. Yes: it’s time we…

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Roughly a year and a half later, Starwood Hotels confirmed its hotel guest database of about 500 million customers was stolen in a data breach, exposing everything from guests’ names and postal addresses to passport numbers and Starwood’s rewards information. consumers and limited information of residents of Canada and Great Britain, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers and birth dates. The program to pay restitution to consumers will be conducted in connection with settlements that have been reached in the multi-district class actions filed against Equifax, as well as settlements that were reached with the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.In 2017, credit reporting agency Equifax announced the compromise of the personal data of 145 million U.S. How does this relate to the FTC/CFPB/Class Action lawsuits? The claims site has a tool to let you check. I’m not sure I was affected by the data breach.

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You can choose to receive this code by email or postal mail when you file your claim.įor cash payments, you can choose to get a check or debit card when you file your claim.

Equifax breach activation code#

The current hearing date on final approval of the settlement is set for December 19, 2019.įor free credit monitoring, you will get an activation code with instructions. The settlement administrator will not send out any benefits until the court gives final approval to the settlement. You can file a claim today. Go to the claims site for more information, or call the telephone number.

Bookmark and check this page for updates.

Visit call 1-83 for more detailed information.

Save any documents you have related to your efforts to avoid or recover from identity theft after the 2017 Equifax data breach.

consumers can get 6 additional free credit reports per year for 7 years from the Equifax website.

For at least seven years, you can get free identity restoration services.įree Credit Reports for All U.S.

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.

(Your payment may be less, depending on the number and amount of claims filed.)

For the time you spent dealing with the breach, you can be compensated $25 per hour up to 20 hours.

Other expenses like notary fees, document shipping fees and postage, mileage, and phone charges.

Fees you paid to professionals like an accountant or attorney.

The cost of freezing or unfreezing your credit report.

Losses from unauthorized charges to your accounts.

You may be eligible to receive cash payments for expenses you paid as a result of the breach, like:

If you were a minor in May 2017, you are eligible for a total of 18 years of free credit monitoring.

Up to six more years of free credit monitoring of your Equifax credit report.

At least four years of free credit monitoring of your credit report at all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and $1,000,000 of identity theft insurance.

Up to 10 years of free credit monitoring OR up to $125 if you decide not to enroll because you already have credit monitoring.

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Where can I go to learn more about filing a claim?Ĭonsumers should go to or call 1-83 for further information on the relief available and how to file claims.ĭo I Still Get Free Credit Monitoring and Identity Theft Protection Services? This is the largest data breach enforcement action in history. The attorneys general secured a settlement with Equifax that includes a Consumer Restitution Fund of up to $425 million, a $175 million payment to the states and injunctive relief, which also includes a significant financial commitment. Georgia played a leading role in this investigation which found that Equifax’s failure to maintain a reasonable security system enabled hackers to penetrate its systems, exposing the data of 56 percent of American adults-the largest-ever breach of consumer data. Attorney General Chris Carr announced on July 22, 2019, that a coalition of 50 attorneys general, including 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, reached a settlement with Equifax as the result of an investigation into the 2017 data breach.

EQUIFAX BREACH HOW TO

EQUIFAX BREACH PATCH

Multiple hackers were able to exploit the vulnerability, the FTC said.

EQUIFAX BREACH PATCH

The FTC alleges that Equifax "failed to patch its network after being alerted in March 2017 to a critical security vulnerability" and that the company didn't discover that its database was unpatched until four months later, when it detected suspicious traffic on its network. "This settlement requires that the company take steps to improve its data security." "Equifax failed to take basic steps that may have prevented the breach," FTC Chairman Joe Simons said in the agency's announcement. People affected by the breach may also qualify for cash payments of up to $20,000 for: the time they spent dealing with fraud, identity theft or other misuses of their personal information, or taking preventative steps such as placing or removing security freezes for out-of-pocket losses and for 25% of the cost of Equifax credit or identity-monitoring products they paid for in the year before the breach was announced. On September 7, 2017, Equifax announced that a massive cybersecurity data breach had occurred in its data systems from mid-May through July 2017. Additionally, breached companies should be required to provide consumers with clear, complete, and concise information about what can be done to prevent, detect, and resolve most kinds of identity theft and fraud.Technology Marriott Says Up To 500 Million Customers' Data Stolen In Breach The company released the details Monday in a. Congressional action, state and federal agency enforcement and private rights of action are needed to provide both the necessary financial consequences and oversight that will help prevent anything like last year’s Equifax breach from happening again. Equifax is offering a closer look at its massive data breach, which revealed sensitive information on more than half the American population last year. We did not ask or give them permission to collect or sell our personal information. Ultimately, we are not the customers of Equifax or the other credit bureaus we are their product. Many of these tips are also available here, separate from this report.

EQUIFAX BREACH HOW TO

*The full report also includes major sections on how to prevent identity theft and protect your privacy, including on the differences between free credit reports and security (credit) freezes required by law and other products offered by Equifax and other credit bureaus. *The full report includes major sections on Governmental Responses to the Equifax breach. (See Appendix A for a summary of Equifax’s offerings to consumers in response to the breach and how they fall short of protecting consumers.)Īn investigative report released by Senator Elizabeth Warren further explains the numerous ways Equifax failed consumers. Initially including arbitration language that forced consumers to sign away their rights to a day in courtįailing to provide consumers full protection from new account identity theft - which it still hasn’t done. Setting up an online search tool that provided faulty results to those who used it about whether they were affected by the breach The company also botched its response by:ĭelaying public notification for at least six weeks If you were affected by the Equifax data breach, you can still claim financial reimbursement for costs you incurred, or time you spent dealing with fraud or identity theft, after January 22, 2022. At that same website, you can also start a claim for benefits available under the settlement that the FTC and others reached with Equifax. For more details and to check your claim status, visit. Four months before the hacking, Equifax could have fixed a known security vulnerability. Just last week, we told you to go to ftc.gov/Equifax to find out if your information like your Social Security number was exposed in the September 2017 Equifax data breach. Had Equifax not been so careless, the breach may never have happened. A year ago tomorrow, Equifax announced that hackers had breached its system and accessed the data of nearly 150 million U.S. The purpose of this report is to make sure consumers have the information they need to protect themselves as much as possible, review what has happened in the last year, and point out the need for Congressional action to prevent breaches as bad as this one from ever happening again.

What Ever Happened to My Equifax Settlement Check?