If you were affected by the Yahoo data breach between 2012 and 2016, you only have until July 20 to file a claim.
People affected by the breach could be eligible for free credit monitoring services and/or up to $100.The money is part of a $117.5 million class-action settlement. After deducting for services and expenses from lawyers, that leaves about $85 million to pay out claims.
The settlement comes after several major data breaches that plagued the internet service provider over several years. Hackers were able to access Yahoo’s internal systems and took records from all of Yahoo’s roughly 3 billion accounts. Yahoo users could have had their email accounts, calendars, passwords, names, and contacts compromised during these various breaches.
The deadline to make a claim is fast approaching, but you can easily file a claim online to reap some benefits.
Who is eligible to file a claim
Anyone who had a Yahoo account between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016, and is a resident of the United States or Israel is eligible for the settlement.
How to make a claim
Those affected by the data breach can go to the official data breach settlement website to claim their benefits. There are a variety of claim forms you can choose from depending on how you were affected.
By filing a claim, you can receive a minimum of two years of credit monitoring services. To cash in on the $100, you must prove that you already have a credit monitoring service that you will keep for at least a year. There are plenty of free credit-monitoring services online that you can quickly sign up for if you choose this option.
Alternative payments may be less than $100 or could go up to $358.80, depending on how many people file a claim.
Those who need to make a bigger claim for out-of-pocket expenses due to the breach will need to upload supporting documents like receipts, account statements with unauthorized charges, or letters from the IRS. The website says that these types of reimbursements can go up to $25,000.
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