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Earlier this week, we told you that roughly half the people in the country can get benefits under a settlement that the FTC and others reached with Equifax. Now, you can now find out if you were affected by the September 2017 breach and make your claim for benefits.

Start at ftc.gov/Equifax. There, you can use a tool to find out if your information – like your Social Security number (SSN) – was exposed in the breach, learn about benefits, and start your claim to get free credit monitoring and maybe even cash. If your info was exposed in the breach, the settlement will give you up to 10 years of free credit monitoring. That means you’ll get an alert whenever somebody checks your credit history, opens a new loan or credit card in your name, or says a payment is late. So if somebody has, say, your SSN and tries to use it to get a loan, this free credit monitoring service would let you know right away. That’s the kind of information that might make a real difference when you apply for a job, try to rent an apartment, or apply for credit.

And a word on the cash: there are several ways to get reimbursed for the time or money you spent dealing with the after-effects of the breach. Read more at ftc.gov/Equifax, but here’s something to consider. To get paid back for up to ten hours of your time, you just need to say what you were doing for those ten hours.

Check out ftc.gov/Equifax to learn more, and be sure to file your claim by January 22, 2020.

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Teresa
July 26, 2019
I don't think credit monitoring alone is enough. How do I know I won't have to deal with some problems 4 years from now after the monitoring time has expired? An 6 additional years of monitoring by the people who couldn't protect our information in the first place is worthless and probably builds up their business more than it helps the consumer.
FTC Staff
July 26, 2019

In reply to by Teresa

Go to www.FTC.gov/Equifax to read more about what is available.

Even if you do not file a claim, you can get free help recovering from identity theft. For at least seven years, you can get free identity restoration services. If you discover misuse of your personal information, call the settlement administrator at 1-833-759-2982. You will be given instructions for how to access free identity restoration services.

bradsmith
July 26, 2019

In reply to by Teresa

true and like i said. we need a stronger database that is all in one that we the people control access to. where we can choose to remove our data and it will be destroyed from the system (only if your records are clean) also ill never trust a .com over a .gov a .com can be spoofed with ease . the FTC needs to used there sub domains for support forms.
Peter
July 26, 2019

In reply to by Teresa

Freezing all 3 credit reports is much better than monitoring.
Seispro
August 13, 2019

In reply to by Been hacked

When you say breach do you mean data was exposed? Or the credit agency reported an event on your credit report while frozen? All 3? Thanks
Slap on the hand
July 27, 2019

In reply to by Peter

I agree. How can we rely on Equifax to monitor. They obviously have not done that in the past. Also, I think we all need to be less cooperative when businesses ask for any information; especially financial.
Krlyman
July 26, 2019
Who would be doing the credit monitoring? Equifax?
FTC Staff
July 26, 2019

In reply to by Krlyman

To get more information about the free credit monitoring, go to the claim site: www.EquifaxBreachSettlement.com. The website has a link to FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) at the top of the page. The FAQ have information about the settlement benefits, including credit monitoring.

champnethq
July 26, 2019
Personal Professional Business Enterprise Has been Breached Results Hardships
gg3127j2x
July 26, 2019
I have requested my report from the three credit bureaus. There was a time in 2017 when businesses were inquiring about my credit without my permission. The number of inquiries was held against me in getting a loan. July 26, 2019
brad.smith
July 26, 2019
i would like to know who is managing this database for form submissions ? we the people need to know that the information collected is secure and reliable and now should only be under a .gov domain not a .com witch can be spoofed
rysio
July 26, 2019
Thank you for the informative update will follow your advice
Tammie
July 26, 2019
How can I find out if I already have free credit monitoring?
Thehud
July 26, 2019
More than 90% of all financial decisions are based on information provided by credit bureaus. How sloppy can they be to avoid spending the money required to tighten up their security. This is the same sloppy decision making and oversight used by so many companies. Why are financial institutions still trusting the credit bureaus with the bureaus don't have the capability to protect the information that they are collecting (of course with financial institution support). Absolutely unacceptable.
dillbert3000
July 31, 2019
Credit monitoring is a joke compared to just freezing each of the 3 credit reports so that if someone has your identity at least they cannot open an account in your name. Also, if someone has kids they should freeze any credit reports that their children have so that the bad guy cannot open an account in their name. The FTC should be highlighting the fact that people should freeze their credit reports.
Notmyemail
July 26, 2019
Has anyone gotten the "lookup tool" to work?
kat3hay
July 26, 2019

In reply to by Notmyemail

yes it works fine--you have to put in 6 digits Leave off the first 3 digits of your ss number
Whyintheworld
July 26, 2019

In reply to by Notmyemail

I did get it to work, but I am wondering if this is for real or not. You just don’t know who to trust on websites.
danithomp26@
August 06, 2019

In reply to by Notmyemail

Same here along with a changed number switched carriers paid 699.99 to have computers cleaned to tell me at the time there was a breach. All to fighting for my credit cards ended in shutdown , bank accounts and debit cards ordered it has already started.. my whole life as I knew it and lifestyle and ended up very I'll in and out the hospital due, to the stress of losses and still credit report frozen , and lifelock and TransUnion has a case opened and still alerts as of yesterday. I'm fed up compromised .
mzlegz
July 27, 2019

In reply to by Notmyemail

Yes, it worked for me and my personal info was impacted. I’m just wondering how far back it’s going because I had identity theft against me prior to 2017x
eetree
July 27, 2019

In reply to by Notmyemail

yeah, it just told me my info was part of the breech. Nothing else.
Fhhdty
July 27, 2019

In reply to by Notmyemail

Yes, just use your legal last name and the last six digits of your ssn.
Dsweetluon't u…
July 26, 2019
The first question is requesting your SS # and I am uncomfortable entering my # in the computer. Is there another alternative?
Niraxcceitabke
July 26, 2019
This is unacceptable. Equifax should automatically provide monitoring AND pay a fine to every consumer affected. Just another example of how crooked the system is.
drf
July 27, 2019
Why must we rely on credit scores to determine the "value" of a person? Now we really are just numbers.
Star2U
July 27, 2019
How do you know if our information won't get compormised in the future. Other than monitoring, there should a better way to prevent this from happening again.
Vic289down
July 27, 2019
This is the second time they have been hacked get better security or shut down
Tom153
July 27, 2019
Ya, the look-up tool works fine. However, the "reply" tool on comments doesn't work...so I posted a new comment to answer the comment, "did anyone get the look-up tool to work?"
Stacy
July 27, 2019
According to the lookup tool I was affected by this breach. But why should I be forced to take so many years of credit monitoring? Can't I just get the cash payment even though I don't currently have credit monitoring?
Slap on the hand
July 27, 2019
Increasingly, we are being asked to share our financial information. Most of the terms and conditions (if you read them) state that these companies will not guarantee that our information will not be stolen nor will they be responsible for our loss. Recently, I was asked by several apartment rentals to give them my checking account number, routing number, and social security number. After reading their terms, I declined. But, now I don't have a place to live. Why is this allowed? While I was under a monitoring agreement, my credit card was used without my knowledge. The monitoring company sent a report with "Good news, your credit has not be compromised." This is a pathetic settlement.
MJ
July 27, 2019
I don't know for sure if my credit has been breached. Should I file anyway?
Viki D
July 27, 2019
Great work.
easylistener57
July 27, 2019
I spent a lot of time trying to fix the problems with my credit. It’s at the point where I’m considering bankruptcy
Not happy
July 27, 2019
Gone through days, weeks, months~ police reports, DMV, banks, money taken from our account, credit reports, changing credit cards, all accounts where they are involved, social media, time from our business, calling 3 credit reporting services, freezing everything. Also had money from account from grocery store. Still worried that information is still out there. Where do you report all of this?
FTC Staff
January 10, 2020

In reply to by Not happy

You can report identity theft at www.IdentityTheft.gov. You can report the type of information that was stolen, create a recovery plan, and use sample letters to contact credit bureaus, businesses and debt collectors.

Splort
July 28, 2019
This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of free credit monitoring I just want my cash
Mikekittl1981
January 10, 2020
How long is this going to take? Still waiting on my bought milk check!
penel
July 28, 2019
I see that my information was exposed, but how do I find out to whom, and to what extent?