Arizona gets share of Equifax settlement

Giant data breach hit almost 3 million in state

Equifax exposed nearly 150 million Americans’ personal data in 2017. Now the company is on the hook for up to $600 million.

The consumer credit reporting agency settled with 48 states, including Arizona, and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Arizona gets $3.5 million of the $175 million Equifax will pay the states, and 2.9 million affected Arizonans will be able to apply for restitution from a $425 million fund.

“Nearly 3 million Arizonans had their personal information stolen in the Equifax breach, most of whom did not choose to have Equifax compile sensitive personal information about them and sell it to potential credit grantors and other third parties in the first place,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a prepared statement.

Affected consumers can’t file claims yet. Updates about the claims process can be found on the Federal Trade Commission website (ftc.gov), where consumers can sign up to be notified via email when the online settlement registry launches. The settlement administrator can be reached at 833-7592982.

Eligible consumers will need to submit claims online or by mail.

The settlement also outlines steps Equifax must take to assist those whose identities were stolen or who have experienced identity theft issues and requires the company to offer 10 years of extended credit-monitoring services.

About the data breach

The 50 attorneys general found that Equifax failed to protect personal consumer data, including “Social Security numbers, birth dates, and addresses of all of the affected consumers, as well as driver’s license numbers, credit card numbers, and certain credit-dispute

documents of some consumers,” according to Arizona’s complaint against the company.

Equifax didn’t realize the attackers had access to this sensitive data for more than two months because it failed to patch a known vulnerability and to replace software that monitored for suspicious activity, Arizona’s complaint against the company stated.

The company told the public about the breach weeks after discovering the leak.

What you can get

Depending on how you were affected by the breach, you could be eligible for several types of compensation under the proposed settlement.

Starting in 2020, all U.S. consumers will be entitled to six free Equifax reports each year for seven years. This can help you to monitor for any suspicious activity. All Americans are entitled to get free identity theft recovery services for seven years.

If you were affected by the breach, you can get up to 10 years of free credit monitoring of your three credit reports at Experian, TransUnion and Equifax by an independent third-party service determined by the court. Or, you can receive $125 if you already have a credit monitoring service and won’t enroll in the free one.

If you spent time or money dealing with an ID theft issue that occurred after the hack and involved personal data that was exposed by the breach, you can get compensated up to $20,000 per person. You can be reimbursed for the following:

❚ Losses from unauthorized charges on your accounts

❚ Cost of freezing or unfreezing your credit report

❚ Cost of credit monitoring

❚ Fees you paid to professionals like an accountant or attorney

❚ Other expenses like notary fees, document shipping fees and postage, mileage, and phone charges

You’re also eligible to get $25 per hour for time spent dealing with the breach’s aftermath, up to 20 hours. For the first 10 hours, you just need to certify that you spent this time. For the additional 10 hours, you may need to provide documentation.

The claims process will open up after the settlement is approved by the court. In the meantime, it’s best to gather documents, emails, receipts and other information to support your claim. You can find more information on the FTC’s website.