You’ll need to answer an email from Equifax to get your $125 settlement from the data breach

Time is running out for consumers to claim their portion of a settlement made by the Equifax credit monitoring company. And now, Equifax is asking those who have made claims to complete one more task before they can get a cash settlement up to $125.

Back in 2017, hackers broke into the Equifax database and exposed the personal details of nearly 147 million of the company’s customers. Sensitive information that included names, dates of birth, social security numbers, genders, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers and driver’s license numbers were part of the breach.

As part of a class-action lawsuit, a federal court proposed a settlement where Equifax doesn’t admit any wrongdoing but agrees to compensate its customers affected by the hack. The proposed settlement means Equifax could pay out up to a total of $700 million to its nearly 150 million customers.

Stolen Credit Cards in Hands of Thief Trying to Use Cards Online without Owner Permission. Online Payments Security and Identity Theft Concept Photo.

Recently, Equifax sent an email out to its customers asking them to verify or amend two aspects of their claim in order to get the $125 cash settlement.

Specifically, the company wants customers to verify that they had free credit monitoring services engaged at the time the claim was made and that claimants want cash-based compensation instead of free Equifax credit monitoring.

Here’s what the email looks like:

The alert comes with a reminder to file before Oct. 15 if they want to receive any of the settlement money and services.

When filing the original claim via email or regular mail, victims could choose from the following options:

• Receive four years of free credit monitoring and identity production from all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) OR one $125 cash payment if the customer already has credit monitoring services that will continue for at least six more months.
• Become eligible for at least seven years of free identity restoration services if they have been impacted by identity theft or fraud.
• Apply for other cash payments (capped at $20,000) for time spent fixing identity theft consequences and out-of-pocket losses from the data breach. those affected could also get back up to 25% of the cost of Equifax credit or identity monitoring they paid for in the year before the breach announcement. Experts say proving harm will be difficult, since claimants must relate it to the breach.

In the reminder email to its customers, Equifax cautioned the one-time cash payment of $125 might actually be less, depending on how many people put in a claim for the compensation. Settlement money can also be claimed by regular mail.

So, check your inbox for one of these emails and make sure you respond as soon as possible to get in on the settlement!