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Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

bloomberg.com

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Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#41

Post by leesalminen »

mlrtime wrote: post #29
hedora wrote: post #17

I'd love to see the $70B number pan out (though $500 per person is less than the damages, I think) -- Equifax is a $17B company, and would presumably stop existing if that happened. On the other hand, these things always settle out of court, and Equifax certainly won't settle the suit for more than they're worth. I said it elsewhere, but I think the right response is to opt out of the class, and sue for $1000 in smal…

Could we create a service that automates most of the work required to sue in SCC?

I'd pay $20 for a service that can walk me through what to do/say, templates legal forms, etc. I would absolutely take the time to sue Equifax in small claims court.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#42

Post by cmiles74 »

waynenilsen wrote: post #20
redm wrote: post #5

I'm not excited about this class action; If they win, the individual payout will be almost nothing ($10?). The lawyers are the only ones who will really "make out" with 10's of millions in fees. There is also a disproportionate effect in that a small portion of the 143 million affected will have a large impact, i.e., "identity theft" while most will be unaffected. I think a fund setup to help those who are directly a…

I think this comment is missing the fact that Equifax will be financially punished as a result, possibly resulting in better systemic security overall.

I don't think this logically follows. More likely, Equifax will settle out of court for a much smaller sum. At that point there's now a literal dollar amount associated with a data breach. Perhaps some math will be done, proving out that there would need to be "N" number of breaches before the cost of settling out-of-court for the breaches would be more expensive then materially changing the way they manage data. And "N" number of breaches, that's just so unlikely.

At that point it would be fiscally irresponsible to properly secure this data. They would owe it to their shareholders to continue with their shoddy security and data management procedures.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#43

Post by zimbatm »

How does Equifax build their database of people exactly? If it's all based on public information then they could argue that it's not really a leak. They are merely interpreting public information to build credit score.

If guess for subscribers they could get more information than publicly accessible. What fraction does it represent?

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#44

Post by fillskills »

leesalminen wrote: post #41
mlrtime wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could we create a service that automates most of the work required to sue in SCC?

I'd pay $20 for a service that can walk me through what to do/say, templates legal forms, etc. I would absolutely take the time to sue Equifax in small claims court.

I would pay 20% of every penny that I win in the lawsuit

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#45

Post by flippyhead »

hedora wrote: post #17

I'd love to see the $70B number pan out (though $500 per person is less than the damages, I think) -- Equifax is a $17B company, and would presumably stop existing if that happened. On the other hand, these things always settle out of court, and Equifax certainly won't settle the suit for more than they're worth. I said it elsewhere, but I think the right response is to opt out of the class, and sue for $1000 in smal…

In.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#46

Post by cmiles74 »

bishnu wrote: post #37

It seems that checking to see if you're affected by the Equifax breach waives your right to sue Equifax: https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/07/i-called-equifax-to-find-o... No idea how ironclad such a clause would be,k though.

At this point they will tell you if your effected and then offer to enroll you in their complimentary "TrustedID" program. If you choose to enroll, that is when you waive your right to join any class action lawsuit.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#47

Post by win_ini »

lsmarigo wrote: post #14
atom_enger wrote: post #3

The super fucked up part is that it automatically signs you up for their "Credit protection" if you use their site to see if you were impacted. Doesn't ask if you'd like to, just says "Thanks for signing up, your year starts now!"

Even worse, you agree to arbitration in case of disputes waiving your rights to sue..not sure if even enforceable. You can check if you're impacted then just not proceed to click "enroll" and be able to check without auto-enrolling and agreeing to their 1yr protection + arbitration agreement.

Nah it's OK, I'll just claim that someone got my SIN number and must have used it to access the site...wasn't me - I swear!

There is now plausible deniability for so many things.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#48

Post by dabockster »

mbesto wrote: post #11

Anyone have a good source for an unbiased (i.e. not trying to sell me something) "what exactly should I do" now? File for the class action? Freeze my accounts? Get identity protection?

I just finished filing a complaint with my state's attorney general's office. YMMV, though.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#49

Post by stcredzero »

hedora wrote: post #17

I'd love to see the $70B number pan out (though $500 per person is less than the damages, I think) -- Equifax is a $17B company, and would presumably stop existing if that happened. On the other hand, these things always settle out of court, and Equifax certainly won't settle the suit for more than they're worth. I said it elsewhere, but I think the right response is to opt out of the class, and sue for $1000 in smal…

I said it elsewhere, but I think the right response is to opt out of the class, and sue for $1000 in small claims court.

There's usually no enforcement of penalties in small claims court.

Re: Equifax Faces Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Over Hack

#50

Post by spinlock »

wyldfire wrote: post #4
mcbits wrote: post #2

Not if everyone signs up for free credit monitoring as their settlement.

Gee, does that automatically settle the claim? I suppose it only would if there were some kind of agreement you make when you apply for the service. I take some mild comfort knowing that > 90% of US adults likely have been impacted (wild guess at US folks who have ever applied for credit -- or it's probably a good amount smaller number if the scope is ever-requested-a-credit-report).

Does it matter if you've applied for credit? They track everyone. The important thing to remember is that you are not and have never been a _customer_ of Equifax. You are their product. The banks, car dealerships, etc... that pay them for credit reports _about_ you are their customers.

You are their _product_. And, in my experience, they treat their product like shit when their product gets his identity stolen.

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