Affecting Equifax Data Burglary? How to find out if you are part of the settlement

One way to look at the Equifax data breakthrough is if you were not affected, it was probably your neighbor. Almost half of the US population can claim a share of the $ 700 million attempt to do things right. This is what you need to do to find out if you're part of the settlement.

The stolen information included names, birth dates and social security numbers. If you were touched, you should have received an email, but it was a few years ago. If you do not remember it, you can search the email by the name "Equifax". If you do not see anything, you may still be affected and eligible for the payment.

Other emails will be sent to people who are part of the class action lawsuit over the coming weeks plus full-page ads and social media announcements.

There is also the website, www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com, where you can look by name or email address. Currently, it is not active, but will be when a judge approves the settlement.

You can also call this number 1

-833-759-2982. When I did, I talked to a real person in seconds telling me to come back with that site Thursday or Friday. When I told her I hadn't signed up to be part of the lawsuit on class action, I was told it wasn't too late to make a claim and that I should call back later this week.

What can you get out of this? At least free credit monitoring for at least 3 years. If you have already paid for credit monitoring, you can get $ 125 cash payment. If you've spent time tackling stolen information or identity theft, Equifax will refund you $ 25 an hour up to $ 500 in total. You have to jump through the hoops to prove your work.