Nearly 3 million Arizonans impacted by Equifax data breach
Jul 22, 2019, 1:59 PM | Updated: 3:45 pm
PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich called credit reporting agency Equifax’s multimillion-dollar settlement over a massive data breach “a wake-up call to corporate America.”
“We need to be doing more to protect consumers’ data, and if it does get breached from some hacker or somebody else, it’s incumbent on these companies, these corporations, to notify consumers promptly to try to mitigate and minimize the risk to them,” Brnovich told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday after the $600 million settlement was announced.
The breach, which was revealed in September 2017, compromised the personal information of 147 million consumers, nearly half the U.S. population.
The data included Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, driver license numbers, credit card numbers and passport information.
“We believe that nearly 3 million Arizonans had their personal information stolen in this breach, and many of them – or most of them, probably – didn’t even know that Equifax was compiling all this sensitive information and selling it to potential creditors,” Brnovich.
Arizona was one of 48 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to launch an investigation into the breach, which led to the settlement.
The probe found that it took Equifax 76 days to detect the hack, which took advantage of weaknesses in the company’s security systems.
Equifax agreed to pay up to $425 million for a consumer restitution fund plus $175 million to the states, over $3.5 million of which will go to Arizona.
More details on today's Equifax data breach settlement announcement can be found at the link below. Consumers cannot file a claim yet, but the claims process will begin following court approval.https://t.co/GdfUZd8iPy
— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) July 22, 2019
Additionally, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined the Atlanta-based company $100 million.
Victims of the breach are eligible for 10 years of free credit monitoring service or a reimbursement of up to $125, as well as cash payments to cover losses resulting from the breach.
“As part of the settlement, they’ve also agreed to strengthen their data security practices to help protect against a future breach,” Brnovich said.
More information about the claims process is available at the Federal Trade Commission website or by calling 1-833-759-2982.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mitchell Zimmermann and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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