Under the terms of the under-reported final settlement, Equifax agreed to pay at least $300 million to a consumer fund to help affected by the breach recover from the incident. The credit reference agency was faulted for a “failure to take reasonable steps to secure its network”, shortcomings in attack detection controls, admin credentials stored in plain text, and inadequate encryption of sensitive customer data. In July 2019, Equifax agreed to pay $175 million to 48 US states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as well as $100 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Legal ruckusĪfter the massive breach was made public in September 2017, lawsuits and enforcement action followed. The key Apache Struts update was published in March 2017. The breach exposed names and dates of birth, Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and other personal information that could lead to identity theft and fraud.Ĭredit card numbers for around 209,000 US consumers and US driving licences details of more than 10 million people were also exposed.Įquifax’s systems were exposed for weeks between May and July 2017 before the problem was detected and remedial action was carried out. However, it generally does not provide the same level of protection as a freeze.Potential claimants would face an ‘uphill battle in order to establish standing’, says US privacy law expertĪNALYSIS The 2017 Equifax mega-breach was arguably the worst data breach that consumers have ever endured, but details of the final settlement reveal that most individuals have little chance of getting any recompense.Īttackers took advantage of a known vulnerability in Apache Struts to break into the credit reference agencies database through its dispute resolution portal before siphoning off the credit records of more than 147 million US citizens and an estimated 15 million UK residents. Under a fraud alert, a lender seeking to approve an application must first contact you to verify the request is not from an imposter.Īdditionally, you only need to contact one of the credit firms to initiate a fraud alert, which in turn is legally obligated to share your notice with the other two. You also can put a short-term fraud alert on your report, which lasts one year. However, you would need to contact all three of the credit reporting firms to cover all your bases. Once the freeze is in place, you have to "thaw" it -either temporarily or permanently - if you apply for credit or a loan so the bank can check your credit. This essentially blocks a lender from checking your report, which means a criminal would be unable to open an account using your personal data. If you didn't sign up for the service (or don't want to), you also can "freeze" your credit report for free, Ulzheimer said. That could include losses from unauthorized charges to your accounts, as well as fees paid or expenses incurred as part of recovering from identity theft. 22, 2024, due to identity theft or fraud related to the data breach, according to the FTC. 22, 2020, consumers are still permitted to file a claim for expenses incurred after that date but before Jan. (Consumers who sought cash payments should visit the settlement claims administrator's website for updates, Equifax told CNBC.)Īfter implementation was delayed due to legal challenges, the settlement received final court approval last month.Īlthough the initial deadline to file a claim was Jan. states and territories.Īs a result, consumers who were affected by the breach had the option of signing up for either up to $125 or free credit monitoring at all three of the largest credit reporting firms: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. In the wake of Equifax's 2017 data breach, which compromised the personal information of roughly 147 million consumers - including names, birthdates and Social Security numbers - the company ended up as the target of multiple lawsuits and reached a settlement in 2019 with the FTC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and all U.S. More from Personal Finance: These scams may cost you this tax season Here are 4 ways to slash your grocery bill Inflation eroded pay by 1.7% over the past year "This is kind of the payoff … for pretty much everyone who was subject to the Equifax data breach," said John Ulzheimer, a credit expert and president of the The Ulzheimer Group in Atlanta. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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