Nearly half of Montana adults affected by Equifax data breach but they need to fully understand the proposal first.

The head of the state Office of Consumer Protection urged Montanans on Friday to take full advantage of the $300 million settlement Equifax will pay affected consumers in the United States for a 2017 data breach.

“People need to focus on it,” said Mark Mattioli, consumer protection chief in the Montana Department of Justice. “Part of the settlement involves free credit monitoring for 10 years, which is huge.”