Consumers are getting payments from Equifax data breach settlement. Here’s what to expect if you filed a claim

The company became the target of multiple lawsuits and reached a settlement in 2019.

Consumers who were affected by the breach were able to sign up for free credit monitoring at all three of the largest credit reporting firms.

The final court approval for the settlement was given early this year.

According to the settlement administrator, consumers who sought up to $125 will likely get less than that. Users have reported receiving small payments, ranging from $2.64 to $40.44, on the micro-blogging site.

Consumers are allowed to file a claim for expenses incurred after Jan. 22, 2020, but before the data breach. Fees paid or expenses incurred as part of recovering from identity theft could also include losses from unauthorized charges to your accounts.

There is no evidence that the data from the cyber attack has been sold or used.

It is worth protecting your credit from criminals if you file a claim for a cash payment or not.

If you want to freeze your credit report, you need to do it. He said that it is still the best practice.

A fraudster wouldn't be able to open an account using your data if your report was frozen. If you apply for credit or a loan after the freeze is in place, you have to keep it that way.

All of the credit reporting firms need to be contacted to cover your bases.

A short-term fraud alert can be placed on your report. Under a fraud alert, a lender must first contact you to make sure the request is legit.

You only have to contact one of the credit firms to initiate a fraud alert, which is legally obligated to share with the other two. It's free as well. It doesn't give the same level of protection as a freeze.