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The FTC's FAQ that was updated: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/equifax-data-breach-settlement https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-
by fooey 7y ago
The FTC's FAQ that was updated:
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/equifax-data-breach-settlement https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/eq...
> 5. I thought I could choose $125 instead of free credit monitoring. What happened?
> The public response to the settlement has been overwhelming. Millions of people have visited this site in just the first week. Because the total amount available for these alternative payments is $31 million, each person who takes the money option is going to get a very small amount. Nowhere near the $125 they could have gotten if there hadn’t been such an enormous number of claims filed.
> The free credit monitoring provides a much better value, and everyone whose information was exposed can take advantage of it. If your information was exposed in the data breach, and you file a valid claim before the deadline, you are guaranteed at least four years of free monitoring at all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and $1,000,000 of identity theft insurance, among other benefits. The market value of this product is hundreds of dollars per year.
> You can still choose the cash option on the claim form, but you will be disappointed with the amount you receive and you won’t get the free credit monitoring.
For a little math, $31 million only makes it to 248,000 claims of the 150,000,000 people affected before it starts diluting.
- taborj 7y ago> For a little math, $31 million only makes it to 248,000 claims of the 150,000,000 people affected before it starts diluting. It's even more fun if you look at it as a percentage. They leaked data on 147,000,000 people, and only have enough cash to pay out for 248,000. That's 0.0017% of those affected. Who in their right mind thought that so few would want reimbursement?
- kingnothing 7y agoIf 150M people have suffered $125 in damages each, then Equifax needs to either pay out the $18B or declare insolvency.
- zadkey 7y agoI agree. This is the best solution. This is what Equifax deserves. Though honestly, it's not enough. How much damage can someone do with my name and social security number? I bet you it's more than 125 dollars can fix. This data could end up circulating the web or dark web for years and years.
- ronsor 7y agoafter which their assets can be liquidated to pay off their debts to the people
- coldpie 7y agoAs should the executives' assets.
- maerF0x0 7y agoBut that's not the settlement. The settlement is a fixed amount divided by claimants.
- ryanlol 7y ago150M people have not suffered $125 damages each
- rconti 7y agoHow much is your time worth?
- ryanlol 7y agoThat’s an utterly irrelevant question unless you have evidence of the equifax data being abused.
- taborj 7y ago> That’s an utterly irrelevant question unless you have evidence of the equifax data being abused. No, because time spent putting safeguards in place to prevent its usage should it be abused is worth something. You don't lock your doors after someone has broken into your house; you take measures to keep them out. In the same vein, you don't protect your credit after someone has abused it; you take measures to keep it from having serious consequences. And taking measures costs time, and time is money.
- ryanlol 7y agoThere are simply no useful measures you could take in response to the Equifax breach. If you choose to waste your time that is on you, not Equifax.
- a-priori 7y agoI say they extract it from the corporate officers by declaring any bonus payments they've returned over the last several years to be invalid and requiring them to be returned. Then if there's any leftover money owed, forbid the company from paying out bonuses in the future until the debt is cleared.
- plopz 7y agoI wonder where the other $400 million is going if its only capped at $31 million.
- TrueDuality 7y agoMost of the rest of it isn't actually money that will be changing hands. They're going to be providing ~ $330 million worth of their services for free and there are a couple highly specialized pools of money that need documented proof to tap into. Aka the settlement was actually for $31 million and bull shit.
- jandrese 7y agoIt's for people who can prove that they had their identity stolen and that it was the Equifax breech that the hackers used to steal their identity. It's designed to almost never pay out.