If you have not filed a claim for cash compensation in
response to the Equifax breach, you might be out of luck. The
company is no longer offering payouts in lieu of credit
monitoring.
The Federal Trade Commission page devoted to the settlement it
announced with Equifax last week was updated July 31 to say that
any consumer affected can claim up to 10 years of free credit
monitoring. "Previously, a cash payment was identified as an
option," the site now adds, "but there are limited funds
available."
The FTC said in a statement that "public response to the
settlement has been overwhelming." In a separate blog post, the
commission said the "unexpected number of claims" would result
in claimants not getting the money they thought.