COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Customers affected by Equifax credit monitoring agency’s 2017 data breach may be eligible for another payment.
Roughly 147.9 million Americans were affected by the breach, which compromised users’ names, Social Security numbers, birthdays, driver’s license numbers, and 200,000 credit card numbers. In 2022, Equifax offered affected Americans $125 or 10 years of free credit monitoring, although some customers reported receiving less than their share. Now, Equifax is opening its pockets once more to fund affected customers.
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According to an email obtained by Nexstar’s WCMH from JND Legal Administration, the court-appointed settlement administrator, remaining funds from the Consumer Restitution Fund will be distributed to eligible customers.
The email did not state how much customers can expect to receive, but it did tell members of the class action lawsuit that funds will be distributed through electronic pre-paid cards. Those who are eligible will receive an email the week of Dec. 9 with instructions on how to redeem the card.
These cards will come from a specific address listed in the email, which was sent to eligible customers. WCMH is not listing this email address to minimize the potential for scam messages. Those who feel they may be eligible should check their inbox and spam folder. They can also reach out to JND at info@EquifaxBreachSettlement.com or call them at 1-833-759-2982.
The second deadline to file a claim for out-of-pocket losses or time spent passed on Jan. 22, 2024, so customers would have had to already file to be eligible for the payment. Anyone affected by the breach, whether they filed a claim or not, is eligible for free identity restoration services until at least Jan. 22, 2029.
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The first settlement payments were distributed in 2022, with many customers reporting payouts were less than anticipated. According to documents filed with the Federal Trade Commission, the initial $700 million settlement only allotted $425 million to customer restitution. Split evenly among those affected by the breach, each person would have only received 21 cents if they had all joined the settlement.
As of November, the Equifax breach is the 14th biggest data breach in U.S. history, affecting nearly half of Americans.
