It’s always important to know if you are eligible for any claims that can compensate for any troubles, pain, or misfortune that happened to you because of the Equifax data breach. Regulators are trying their best to give people what they deserve because of the Equifax data leaks, so let’s take a look at some important information regarding the settlements related to this issue.
The Event That Shook Millions
Back in September of 2017, there was a horrible data breach that leaked a lot of personal data and important information. This cybersecurity breach had hackers accessing full names, social security numbers, driver’s licenses, birth dates, addresses, and many more.
The Equifax data breach has affected 147 million people, causing tremendous panic and grievances among them all. It’s one of the most notable cyber attacks in history.
What Happened as a Response?
Because of the severity of the leaks exposing millions, the Equifax company decided to compensate for the catastrophe by setting up a global settlement of 425 million dollars, which was made possible with the help of the Federal Trade Commission, fifty U.S. States, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Legal Actions
This event has sparked major outrage and anger coursing through, and it led to a lot of court cases. If you’re one of the victims of this event, then you’ll need the talents of one of the lawyers from Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP law firm who specializes in cases related to Equifax settlements, and they would negotiate for the best claims for the many victims of this tragic event. You could be looking at millions of dollars in return if you take the necessary steps and enroll in the program.
How to Find Out If You’re Eligible
You need to start enrolling yourself and your family members to the company’s identity protection program. Be aware that it would stop you from filing class-action lawsuits against the program, but you can still participate in lawsuits that are related to the breach. Also, there is a lookup tool provided by the company that can inform you about everyone who was affected.
Then, you should check your credit reports and history, and it’s recommended that anyone with an active credit history during the months of the attack should assume they got hacked. If somehow your credit card history came back clean, then you should freeze it immediately, because it might still be compromised.
Other Important Things to Do
Once you’ve found out that you are eligible after checking your history, joining the program, or using the lookup tool manually, you should start a fraud alert, so no other transactions happen. Also, you should notify the IRS about your situation to avoid any possible tax fraud problems that you might face; there are certain steps that you can follow to get things ready for tax season.
If you were a victim of this unfortunate series of events, then you can file for a claim that can make up for the negative effects of this data breach. With the right legal representation, you might get a decent settlement for your predicament. So, make sure you get everything you deserve and find out if you’re entitled to more.