In July of 2017, the large credit reporting company, Equifax, was hacked. This breach of security resulted in the loss of the personal information of 143 million Americans, making it one of the largest hackings in American History. The victims of this incident have filed some lawsuits against the credit reporting company for monetary and personal information loss. However, many of those hoping to file a lawsuit are unsure of the value of their particular case. Fortunately, our experienced lawyers at the top-rated Normandie Law Firm can assist you in not only helping you discern the case worth of your lawsuit, but we can also represent you and your case in court. If you have any questions after reading this article, please feel free to reach out to our top law offices for a free consultation by one of our skilled lawyers with experience handling identity theft claims.
Equifax Class Action Lawsuits
Clients, who come into our law firm seeking representation for their Equifax data breach case often ask us, “How much money can I receive if I join a Class Action Lawsuit for the Equifax Data Breach?” This question is difficult to generalize, as how much you can receive for your case depends on some factors. One of the major factors in determining the settlement value for an Equifax data breach case is the number of participants in the class action lawsuit. The more members that join a class action lawsuit, the more the settlement amount will be divided up. Considering this security breach affected 143 million people, there is no guarantee that your case will benefit you individually. However, that is not to say that you will receive no sense of recovery. Many who file class action lawsuits often mention their benefit is not their primary concern, and that rather they feel more reward from having participated in a class action lawsuit against a party responsible for some scale of damage.
There is also a large benefit in filing class action lawsuits, as the legal fees are distributed amongst an entire group rather than an individual party. The likelihood of receiving a positive outcome for your case is also increased as class action suits are often brought to attorneys who are particularly trained and experienced in managing complex lawsuits. This is because class action lawsuits require more work and effort than a typical civil suit. Class action lawsuits, if won, ensure that all plaintiffs receive some form of compensation. This can lead to a company going bankrupt if they cannot afford to pay all of their claimants back for their damages.
However, as stated previously, determining an average value is particularly challenging with this case as it involves such a large claimant base. Equifax provided information protection for a large number of Americans, and it may be some time before a resolution to this case is found. That should not deter you though; Equifax is a massive company and should be held liable for the damages of allowing a data breach of this scale to occur. An expert lawyer experienced in identity theft cases can give you more information.
Equifax: The Company & Identity Theft
Equifax is one of the largest consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States. The other two that compromise a majority of this credit reporting business are Experian and Transunion. Equifax was founded in 1899 and is known as the oldest of the three large agencies. Today, they hold the sensitive information of over 800 million consumers and more than 88 businesses throughout the world. On September 7th, 2017, Equifax reported that it had come under cyber attack, which resulted in the theft of the private information of approximately 143 American consumers. This information included things like Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in particular situations, driver’s license numbers. The credit card numbers for roughly 209,000 U.S consumers was also taken. Anyone who had their information stolen or violated by hackers could face some of the truly devastating damages of identity theft. Identity theft is defined as the fraudulent acquisition and use of an individual’s private information. This is usually done for the sake of financial gain. Below are some of the possible damages that are associated with identity theft:
- Damage Prospects of Finding Work: Employers nowadays regularly check an individual’s credit history when assessing job candidates. A report that is littered with ID theft-related errors could ruin your application. While it is illegal for an employer to refuse anyone work for their credit reports directly, they could still deny you work indirectly.
- Increase in Car Insurance Rates: Almost all auto insurers use credit scores to set rates, wherever it is legal. (Some states ban the practice of it). A low credit score can cause premiums to rise. Insurers cannot directly reject you because of your credit score. However, they can use the score to offer higher rates without explaining as to why.
- Unaccounted for Tax Bills: Some identity theft can involve the stealing of only a Social Security Number. Through just a Social Security Number, the thieves can use a victim’s Social Security Number to work without discovery, pay their bills and pay their taxes. If the thief fails to pay these, the debt is not on them; it’s on the victim.
- Damage Social Security Income Credits: The theft of a Social Security number could keep a victim from applying for Social Security Income Benefits
- Delay of Tax Refunds: According to the Treasury Department, 1.6 million taxpayers were impacted by identity theft in the first six months of 2013. In turn, the IRS has stepped up its anti-ID theft efforts, and as a result has slow down the tax returns of legitimate taxpayers.
- Left with Criminal Record: Perhaps one of the most dangerous forms of identity theft, criminal identity theft involves a convicted criminal using the identity of another individual to get away from another serious conviction and to clear their names of the crimes they have been sentenced for.
- (Virtually) Kill You: Some Identity thieves will take the information of another and label themselves as dead to avoid creditors. The Social Security Administration wrongly declares roughly 14,000 people as dead every year.
- Receive Wrong Treatment At Hospital: Medical Identity Theft can take on many forms, but the most common are criminals trying to take money through a Doctor creating fake patients and filing fake claims.
- Keep Children From Receiving Financial Aid: The Identity Theft of children can be incredibly devastating, as in some cases it can go undetected for years. One of the main ways, children, discover they have had their identity stolen from them is when they fill financial aid forms which check applicants for signs of a poor credit history. If they find a poor credit history it is likely they will refuse loaning a potential student the money they need.
Identity Theft can be truly traumatizing to those who have to experience it. Identity Theft could leave monetary damages that are incredibly difficult to recover from, and as such, it is in your best interest to know what to do if you feel as though you may have been made a victim of identity theft. To assist you in preventing further identity theft damage, we have compiled some steps that could help you in avoiding these losses:
- Notify affected creditors or bank
- Put a fraud alert on your credit report
- Check your credit reports
- Consider putting a credit freeze on your reports
- Contact the FTC
- Go to the police
- Send creditors a copy of your ID theft report
- Contact credit reporting agencies
- Change all account passwords
- Contact the Social Security fraud hotline
- Get a new driver’s license
- Contact your telephone and utility companies
If you or a loved one has experienced the damages of identity theft as a result of the Equifax Data Breach or any other form of unauthorized release of private information you may be entitled to file a claim for monetary compensation. Those who have experienced identity theft damages as a result of the Equifax Data Breach have every right to either file a class action lawsuit or join one already made against the credit agency. An accomplished attorney who has experience in data breach cases can help you get started with legal action.
How Normandie Law Firm Can Help
Having an experienced attorney on your side can make the difference between filing a successful claim for compensation and having your lawsuit dismissed from court entirely. At Normandie Law Firm, our qualified class action attorneys with experience in identity theft cases can assist you in not only fighting our case but helping you determine how much your particular case is worth. Our law firm is based in Los Angeles, but our attorneys also practice in San Diego, Orange County, Riverside, Bakersfield, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento and throughout the state of California.
Free Second Opinions
Some attorneys are lazy, and will sign you up to their firm but will disappear once your name is on the paper as they are busy signing up more cases. In these instances, their business is based more on volume and will attempt to sign up as many cases as possible. In turn, they will spend less time on cases resulting in severely reduced settlements. Our firm will not treat you like a number. We will be in communication with you throughout our lawsuit and will treat you like family. So if you already have an attorney don’t worry, we’ll give you a second review of your case 100% free of charge.
Zero Fee Guarantee-No Upfront Fees Ever
If you contact our law offices today, we can walk you through the complicated process of filing your claim completely free of charge. As a show this commitment to you and your case we offer our clients the benefits of a zero fee guarantee policy. Under our zero fee policy, all clients don’t pay for our services until their case is won. If you feel in need of a second opinion, second opinion case reviews are also free under this policy. Please, feel free to give us a call, and we can guide you down the path of receiving proper compensation for your damages. An attorney with expertise in data breach injury lawsuits will be able to help you earn a settlement.
