Keep an eye out for an email or letter if you signed up for free credit monitoring after the 2017 Equifax data breach.

• An email or mailed letter will contain the instructions on how to activate your service.
• The settlement received final court approval last month.
• If you didn't register, there are still other methods to safeguard your credit.

Your free credit monitoring for four years could be waiting in your email.

If you signed up for a service as part of the settlement from the 2017 Equifax data breach, you should receive instructions on how to activate it by Feb. 25, either through an email or mailed letter.

The Equifax data breach resulted in a payoff for most affected individuals, according to John Ulzheimer, a credit expert and president of The Ulzheimer Group in Atlanta.

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Following the 2017 data breach that exposed the personal information of approximately 147 million consumers, including names, birthdates, and Social Security numbers, Equifax faced numerous lawsuits and ultimately reached a settlement in 2019 with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and all U.S. states and territories.

Consumers affected by the breach could choose between receiving up to $125 or free credit monitoring from the three largest credit reporting firms: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Those seeking cash payments should check the settlement claims administrator's website for updates, Equifax advised CNBC.

Last month, the settlement received final court approval after its implementation was delayed due to legal challenges.

Experian is offering a free credit monitoring service that you can sign up for through the Experian IdentityWorks website using an authorization code provided in the information you receive, or by calling 1-877-251-5822.

Although it may appear perplexing to register with Experian for an incident involving Equifax, it is ultimately Equifax that will be responsible for the costs.

No payment information is required for enrollment, and if signup instructions are sent via email, ensure they are from the Equifax Breach Settlement Administrator ([email protected]). You will not receive any phone calls regarding the settlement.

Consumers can still file a claim for expenses incurred due to identity theft or fraud related to the data breach, even if the initial deadline was Jan. 22, 2020. This includes losses from unauthorized charges and expenses incurred in recovering from identity theft, according to the FTC.

If you didn't sign up for the service or don't want to, you can freeze your credit report for free, which prevents lenders from checking your report and makes it difficult for a criminal to open an account using your personal data. To lift the freeze, you can do it temporarily or permanently, and this is currently free as well.

To ensure comprehensive credit reporting, it is necessary to contact all three credit reporting firms.

If you want to put a short-term fraud alert on your report, it will last for one year. During this time, any lender who wants to approve your application must first verify that the request is not from an imposter.

Contacting only one credit firm to initiate a fraud alert is sufficient, as they are legally obligated to share your notice with the other two. This service is free, but it may not offer the same level of protection as a freeze.