I Was Shocked To Learn My Personal Information Was Leaked

Half of the American adults had their data breached. If you were one of them, you are entitled to be compensated.

A few weeks back, the largest data breach settlement in history was reached with Equifax Inc., as a result of an investigation into the company’s massive 2017 data breach that exposed the personal information of nearly half the U.S. population.

In September 207, Equifax, one of the big three consumer credit reporting agencies, announced a data breach, ultimately affecting over 147 million consumers, or 56-percent of American adults, making it one of the largest-ever breach of consumer data in history.

Breached information included Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth, addresses, credit card numbers, and, in some cases, driver’s license numbers. Shortly after, a coalition — that has since grown to 50 Attorneys General — launched a multi-state investigation into the breach.

In New York over 8.5 million residents had their personal information was illegally accessed.

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I reported on the story but had no idea my personal information was also exposed. The FTC has an easy lookup tool to find out if you were also impacted.

As part of the settlement, if your personal information was exposed, you could choose from a $125 payment option or up to 10 years of free credit monitoring.

I do have some bad news to report, if you're due a piece of the settlement from the Equifax data breach, you may not get that money. The FTC announced the money, which was capped at $31 million ran out. If you haven't submitted a claim, the FTC recommends choosing the free credit monitoring option.

For more information CLICK HERE.

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