Equifax started to send out payments to individuals who were affected by its massive 2017 data breach.
Equifax starts to pay clients affected by massive data breach in 2017. (Photo: CNN)
Equifax Started To Send Out Payments
The 2-17 massive data breach affected the operation of Equifax. It compromised the personal information of millions of persons in the country. Following it, the company was ordered to pay its consumers and clients due to the data breach.
The company started to send payments on Dec.19 but people realized that the money hitting their bank accounts are far less than initially expected. According to an article published in Business Insider, there are people who received an amount of $5 and $2.
The amount received is too far from the expected least amount of $125. In fact, of all the people the news outlet interviewed, only one said that he got $22 from Equifax.
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How Much Is The Settlement?
A settlement was made after information on more than 147 million Americans was affected. The credit bureau ordered that the company needs to pay each of its clients an amount between $125 and $20,000. Equifax agreed to pay a $700 million settlement over the data breach and $425 million was set aside to repay consumers.
The company released a statement on Monday saying, “These consumer payments are being drawn from the $425 million restitution fund that was agreed to by the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 50 U.S. states and territories, the attorneys representing the consumer class action plaintiffs, and Equifax.”
They also added, “The restitution fund was created to pay for: three-bureau credit monitoring for U.S. consumers whose information was impacted in the 2017 breach; actual out-of-pocket losses related to the breach; and other consumer benefits such as identity restoration services.”
