Can We Sue Equifax For Data Breach?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Can we sue Equifax for data breach? After January 22, 2020,

you can still file a claim if you incur expenses between January 23, 2020, and January 22, 2024

, due to identity theft or fraud related to the breach, like: losses from unauthorized charges to your accounts.

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Did anyone get money from Equifax?

Court Approves Equifax Breach Settlement:

Money for Some, Free Credit Monitoring for All

.

Equifax will pay up to $425 million in restitution to those directly impacted by the massive data breach of the credit bureau in 2017

. A federal court gave final approval to the class-action settlement in mid-January.

Is there a class action lawsuit against Equifax?

Equifax data breach class action lawsuit settlement updates:


On June 3, 2021, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the $425 million Equifax data breach settlement

. It is not known at this time how quickly claims will be paid. Top Class Actions will continue to provide updates as they become available.

How much is the Equifax settlement per person?

Individual consumers who were wronged were supposed to be able to claim

$125 each

from the settlement—until, that is, the FTC and Equifax remembered the wronged were still 144 million strong and the settlement fund didn't have enough cash.

How do I claim my Equifax settlement?

You can also

call 1-877-251-5822

. You must use the Activation Code by June 27, 2022. Your activation code will not work after this date. Legitimate emails about this settlement will come from Equifax Breach Settlement Administrator
[email protected]

>.

How do I check the status of my Equifax settlement?

Status of financial reimbursement

For more details and to check your claim status,

visit EquifaxBreachSettlement.com

. 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.

Has anyone received the $125 from Equifax?

If you requested compensation of up to $125 or reimbursement for time spent recovering from fraud or ID theft,

a check or debit card will be mailed to the address you used when submitting your claim

. Be prepared for compensation that is much less than you requested.

Who qualifies for Equifax settlement?

You are a Settlement Class Member if you are

among the approximately 147 million U.S. consumers identified by Equifax whose personal information was impacted by the Equifax Data Breach

.

Can I get compensation for a data breach?


It is possible to make a data breach claim for compensation but you must be able to provide evidence that you have suffered damages and stress as a result of the data breach

. The current period for making a data breach claim is 6 years, 1 year if it involves a breach of Human Rights.

Has the Equifax settlement been finalized?

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

the settlement was finalized in January 2022

. The settlement administrator has begun sending emails and letters to people who filed a valid claim requesting free credit monitoring services from the settlement.

How much money will I get from Equifax?

Under the terms of the settlement, affected consumers could potentially get

up to $20,000

in reimbursement. But even if you didn't suffer any direct harm from the breach, you could claim free credit monitoring or a cash payout of up to $125 if you already have credit services in place.

How much can you get from a data breach settlement?

You can get compensation for up to 20 hours at

$25 per hour

for the time you spent taking measures to prevent identity theft or dealing with identity theft. Ten hours can be self-certified, requiring no documentation.

Who was responsible for the Equifax data breach?

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury in Atlanta delivered a nine-count indictment accusing four hackers and members of China's People's Liberation Army –

Wu Zhiyong, Wang Qian, Xu Ke and Liu Lei

– of serving as masterminds of the hack.

Which federal agency filed a complaint against Equifax?

Consumers submitted more than 700,000 complaints to

the CFPB

regarding Equifax, Experian and TransUnion from January 2020 through September 2021, which represented more than 50% of all complaints received by the agency for that period.

Does Equifax sell your information?


We use and sell personal data to nonaffiliated third parties for the following commercial purposes: Consumer credit reporting

. Some of our affiliates collect, use, and sell personal data when acting as a consumer reporting agency, as this activity is regulated by the FCRA.

Are Experian and Equifax the same?


Experian and Equifax are the two largest credit bureaus in the U.S.

Both companies collect and research credit information of individuals and rate the overall ability to pay back a debt. Credit bureaus like Experian and Equifax provide the information they gather to creditors for a fee.

How long do Equifax disputes take?

If you file a dispute regarding information on your Equifax credit report, you can generally expect to receive the results of the investigation

within 30 days

. If the information on your credit report is found to be inaccurate or incomplete, your credit report will be updated, generally within about 30 days.

What happened to Equifax data breach settlement?

Equifax denied any wrongdoing and no judgment or finding of wrongdoing was made. If you are a Class Member, the deadline to file Initial Claims Period claim(s) for free credit monitoring or up to $125 cash payment and other cash reimbursement passed on January 22, 2020.

The Settlement is now effective

.

What happened to Equifax after the data breach?

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 and

reached a settlement in 2019 with the FTC, the Consumer Financial Protection

Is Equifax still in business?

With over 10,000 employees worldwide,

Equifax has US$3.1 billion in annual revenue

and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Like all credit reporting agencies, the company is required by U.S. law to provide consumers with one free credit report every year.

Is Equifax accurate?


Both TransUnion and Equifax are reliable credit reporting agencies

that compile reports and calculate your credit scores using different scoring models.

What are the potential harms of Equifax?

In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Equifax failed to secure the massive amount of personal information stored on its network, leading to

a breach that exposed millions of names and dates of birth, Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and other personal information that could lead to identity theft and fraud

Has TransUnion ever been hacked?


TransUnion was compromised by the hacker group ‘N4aughtysecTU'

which demanded a $15 million (R225 million) ransom over four terabytes of compromised data. The hacker group claims the information in its possession contains everything from credit scores to banking details and ID numbers.

Is Equifax a safe site?

How secure is the information I provide to Equifax.com?

Social Security number and credit card number(s) are encrypted before being transmitted to/from our servers

. For your security, this site requires the use of a 128-bit SSL compatible browser.

Can you sue over a data breach?


Data breach lawsuits generally become valid once the individual suffers damage from the data breach through criminal or civil injuries

such as financial information shared and used through identity theft or the loss of income from the online activity.

Can I sue if my data is leaked?

The short answer to this question is yes. The GDPR was introduced in May 2018 to ensure personal data is not misused, destroyed, disclosed, or lost. So,

if you think your data has been treated in this way and not fully protected you have the right to sue a company and receive compensation for the data breach.

Can I get compensation for breach of confidentiality?

Under GDPR,

you can claim compensation for material damage (i.e lost money) or non-material damage (if you've suffered distress)

. If you believe your personal data has been lost or misused and you have suffered loss or distress, you may be able to claim compensation.

How long after settlement do I get the money?

At settlement, your lender will disburse funds for your home loan and you'll receive the keys to your home. Generally, settlement usually takes place

around 6 weeks

after contracts are exchanged. Your conveyancer or solicitor can check and negotiate the settlement period with the seller.

How do I know if my Equifax breach is affected?

What is the difference between my Equifax and Equifax?

Highlights: With a free myEquifax account, you can receive free Equifax credit reports, place a security freeze, fraud alert or submit a dispute.

A myEquifax account is FREE, and for anyone to easily view and monitor their Equifax credit report and needs credit report assistance

.

Has Equifax changed to my Equifax?


Equifax has recently changed its credit score range

, so your credit score will most likely have changed too! Instead of being out of 700, your Equifax credit score will now be out of 1000. Equifax still have the same credit score bands, it's just the credit score “number” that's different.

How much did the Equifax breach cost the company?

Is there a Capital One lawsuit?


Numerous lawsuits were brought against Capital One on behalf of the customers whose personal information was accessed as a result of the cyberattack

. On Feb. 7, 2022, a U.S. federal court preliminarily approved a class action settlement related to the data breach.

Is there really a Capital One settlement?

Important Update: 2019 Cyber Incident Settlement Reached


On February 7, 2022, a U.S. federal court preliminarily approved a class action settlement relating to the cyber incident Capital One announced in July 2019

. Please visit www.CapitalOneSettlement.com for additional details.

Will Equifax email me?

Learn more at the FTC's official site for information: ftc.gov/Equifax. Remember that you don't have to pay for credit monitoring as part of this settlement, and

nobody will call, text, or email out of the blue to ask you for your credit card or bank account numbers

, or to “help” you get your free credit monitoring.

How did Equifax find out about the breach?

The 2017 Equifax Breach

The company stated that the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017. The hackers did not access the data from Equifax's core consumer credit reporting databases, but

from the company's U.S. online dispute portal web application

.

Juan Martinez
Author
Juan Martinez
Juan Martinez is a journalism professor and experienced writer. With a passion for communication and education, Juan has taught students from all over the world. He is an expert in language and writing, and has written for various blogs and magazines.