You Can Now Submit A Claim For The Equifax Data Breach Settlement

(CNBC) If your information was compromised during the massive 2017 Equifax data breach you could be entitled to up to $20000. On Monday Equifax agreed to pay nearly $700 million to settle federal and state investigations into how it handled a massive data breach that affected nearly 150 million people. The settlement includes $425 million to directly help consumers affected by the breach. The restitution fund will start with $300 million dedicated to consumer compensation with an additional $125 million at the ready if the initial funds run out. The Federal Trade Commission opened up the online claims process on Wednesday where affected consumers can file a digital form (or print one out and send it in) to claim some of that settlement. The deadline to submit a claim is January 22 2020. The settlement provides a cash payment of up to $20000. Go into this with your eyes open" Charity Lacey VP of communications at Identity Theft Resource Center tells CNBC Make It. Part of this claims process really puts the onus on the consumer to justify that they deserve that."