Coalition Of States, Including South Carolina, Reached Settlement With Equifax Over Data Breach

(Seneca, SC)–South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced yesterday that a coalition of 50 Attorneys General, comprising 48 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has reached a settlement with Equifax.

The settlement is the result of an investigation into a data breach that occurred in 2017.  The data of 56 percent of American adults, over 147 million people, were exposed, the largest-ever breach of consumer data, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s office.  The 147 million consumers affected included the personal information of over 2.3 million South Carolinians.

The settlement includes a Consumer Restitution Fund of up to $425 million dollars, a $175 million dollar payment to the states, with over $2.1 million dollars going to the state of South Carolina and injunctive relief as well.