As mentioned in another article about the Equifax settlement, you may be one of 148 million people whose social security number was compromised by the Equifax data-breach. This guide is meant to help you through the process of filing a claim.
Getting Started
The first thing you’ll need to do is visit the website at: https://www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com/
Check if you are eligible
There is roughly a 50% chance you were affected by the data breach, but you need to confirm this. Start by going to the drop-down menu at the far right, labeled “I Would Like To…” and select “See If My Information Was Impacted By The 2017 Data Breach.”
Once on this page you will need to enter your last name and the last six (6) digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). [Note: Some readers have reported that their maiden name or married name may show a breach. We suggest checking both if you have been or currently are married]
If this message shows, you are eligible to file a claim. You may start by clicking “File A Claim.”
Filing A Claim
When filing a claim, you have a few options. We will be covering the online filing process in this guide. Start by selecting “File a Claim Online.”
You will receive a quick set of instructions, review them and continue.
Next, you will need to provide information for where and how you can be contacted (and where your claim can be sent!).
Once you provide your information, you can select whether you’d like the Free Credit Monitoring or up to $125 if you have credit monitoring already (remember that if more than 248,000 people sign up this amount will be reduced).
Once you make a selection, you may then submit a claim for any time spent on matters relating to the data breach. If claiming up to ten (10) hours you do not have to provide documentation but will need to list what you spent the time on. However, make sure that you are only claiming time actually spent- otherwise you are committing fraud.
If you had any expenses caused by identity theft or fraud, you may file a claim for up to $20,000. You will need documentation to prove these expenses.
Next, you will be able to choose whether you would like to have a check or a prepaid card sent to your address. We generally recommend checks since prepaid cards often have usage fees.
Last, you will have a chance to review your information and selects before confirming with your digital signature.
Once you submit, you will receive a Claim Number, which you ought to record and print.
That's all there is to it! It is not yet clear how long claims will take or when the settlement payments will be issued. The good news is that by starting the process now you are near the top of the list.
We are excited to be launching our updated platform this August in a rolling release; stay tuned for more details and join the tens of thousands of employees already signed up for FloatMe at www.floatme.io/register
