INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Attorney General’s office has an alert out to consumers about emails arriving regarding the state’s Equifax settlement.
You may have already received an email offering you $79, and the state wants you to know the email is likely legitimate if you signed up for the electronic restitution.
The email says “Your Payment is Ready” and allows you to choose between an Amazon e-gift card and a debit card payment.
“They are legit and they’re receiving those emails because the consumers opted to have an electronic payment rather than having a check sent to them,” said Scott Barnhart, director of consumer protection at the Indiana Attorney General’s office.
The Indiana Attorney General’s office sued Equifax over the massive 2017 data breach that impacted 3.9 million Hoosiers and their personal information.
The state obtained a $19.5 million settlement, but it’s now too late to decide if or how you want to get money.
“One question you may get it is can I get a paper check now? The answer is no, because we factored in who wants paper checks, who wants electronic checks and now in terms of we can't go back and fix that because it costs more money,” said Barnhart.
If you don’t get an email this week don’t panic.
“Obviously there’s a lot of consumers impacted so we are doing it in batches, we are doing it in groups,” said Barnhart. “We can’t do it all at once. It would crash the system.”
If you did not sign up for the Equifax settlement and you get an email offering you money, you should do some additional investigation before clicking on any links.
The Attorney General’s office is distributing payments to 236,616 current and former Indiana residents who filed eligible claims.
“This Office’s years-long efforts to put money into the pockets of Hoosiers harmed by the Equifax data breach are finally coming to fruition,” Attorney General Rokita said. “I am very proud of the attorneys in my Office who worked tirelessly to achieve a positive outcome in this case. We will always fight tooth and nail for Indiana consumers.”
Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and credit card information were compromised in the data breach
You can find more information at IndianaEquifaxClaims.com.
