Attorneys General from 50 states have landed a $600 million settlement with Equifax following their 2017 data breach. Up to $425 million of that will go back to consumers affected by the breach. Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller, says the state’s settlement from the Consumer Restitution Fund includes more than $1.3 million which is allocated to the Consumer Education and Litigation Fund and $300 million for consumer redress. If that money is exhausted, another $125 million may be added. The company will also offer extended credit-monitoring services for a total of 10 years. This was the largest data breach enforcement action in history, according to Miller. “This data breach was astonishing, not only because of the number of consumers affected, but also because of the key personal information it exposed,” he said. “This agreement offers financial reimbursement for victims and will help protect against another breach.” More than 147 million consumers—nearly half the U.S. population—was impacted in the event that revealed personal information such as Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth, addresses, credit card numbers, and in some cases, driver’s license numbers. Equifax has also agreed to make it easier for consumers to freeze credit and dispute inaccurate information while they reorganize their data security team and monitoring protocols. Consumers eligible for redress will be required to submit claims online, by mail or by phone. Contact points for more information or to file can be found here.
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