It’s been a little over a week since the Federal Trade Commission reached an up to $700 million settlement with credit reporting agency Equifax for the 2017 data breach that jeopardized the sensitive personal information of nearly 147 million people. Victims were originally offered the option of free credit monitoring services or a $125 claims payout.
But the FTC announced Wednesday that due to an “overwhelming” public response, money allocated for those $125 payouts is close to becoming exhausted, so the agency is now pushing claimants to opt for the credit monitoring service instead.
“The pot of money that pays for that part of the settlement is $31 million. A large number of claims for cash instead of credit monitoring means only one thing: each person who takes the money option will wind up only getting a small amount of money. Nowhere near the $125 they could have gotten if there hadn’t been such an enormous number of claims filed,” FTC said. “So, if you haven’t submitted your claim yet, think about opting for the free credit monitoring instead.”
Here’s how the $575 million to $700 million settlement breaks down: $300 million to $425 million will cover credit monitoring and claims for impacted consumers; $175 million will go to 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; and $100 million in civil penalties will go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Though the FTC’s original announcement last wee ..
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