Data Breach Lawsuits & Investigations

Not necessarily. When a company experiences a data breach, state law requires that it notify affected individuals. Receiving a letter does not automatically mean that your personal information is being used fraudulently – it just means your information was exposed in a data security incident and has the potential for being misused.

If you get a data breach notice, make sure to read it closely. It should contain information on what happened, what information was involved, what the company is doing about it, steps you can take to protect yourself, and how you can get more information.

Some companies may offer free credit and/or identity theft monitoring for a period of time following a data breach, and the notice should include instructions on how to sign up. If you’re offered free monitoring, take advantage of it; signing up should not affect any legal claim you may have against the company.

Importantly, if you get a data breach letter, don’t throw it out! If you are interested in helping any of the investigations listed on this page, attorneys will want to see the letter you received.

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are specifically looking to hear from people with a data breach notice because it essentially serves as proof that the individual was a victim of the incident and makes for a stronger legal claim.

Yes. If your data was exposed in a security incident, you may be able to sue the company or companies responsible. Dozens of data breach class action lawsuits are filed each month, and this number only continues to increase. You can check out the proposed data breach class actions we’ve covered recently over on our newswire.

Absolutely. Here is an example of one sent to Forever 21 employees following a massive data breach that occurred in March 2023. This is the letter sent to consumers affected by the MAPFRE insurance data breach in late August 2023. In some cases, notices may be sent via email.

It’s important to note that, in rare cases, you may not recognize the company sending the letter, but this does not mean it was sent in error.

For instance, a May 2023 data incident affecting a popular file transfer tool caused millions of individuals to have their information exposed. In this instance, many of the data breach letters were sent by a third-party vendor of the affected companies. For example, PBI Research Services sent this letter to customers of Corebridge Financial.

It’s important that, if you receive any data breach notice, you do not throw it out. If you’ve already done so, you may want to check the company’s website for their official notice of the breach – it should include the same information that was in your notice. You may also want to check the post for a dedicated number consumers can call with questions about the security incident. It’s worth a call to see if they can resend your notice, but this may not be possible.

Notices aren’t always sent immediately after a breach hits the news, so you may just have to be patient. Otherwise, you can check the company’s website to see if they’ve posted a notice about the breach – it may contain a number you can call with questions. They should, at the very least, be able to answer when notices are expected to go out and may also be able to confirm whether you were affected.

Be sure to bookmark our page and come back to it if you believe you’ve been affected by a data breach listed below but haven’t received a notice yet.

In general, data breach victims can seek compensation for lost time responding to the incident, out-of-pocket costs related to the breach and loss of privacy.

Depending on the specifics of the data breach, out-of-pocket costs may include some of the following: money spent on preventative measures, such as identity theft and/or credit monitoring; service fees to replace stolen cards; money spent on credit reports and/or credit freezes; the costs associated with obtaining background checks or medical records; increased health insurance costs; and money lost via fraudulent transactions, fraudulent medical bills or stolen tax refunds.

Further damages may become available depending on the type of information exposed. For instance, if a person’s health data is leaked, they may be able to recover money for reputational damage if they are denied medical care or insurance coverage. Likewise, a person whose Social Security number is exposed may be able to recover money for damage to their credit.

How much you can claim in any data breach settlement will depend on a number of factors, including the specifics of the settlement, the amount of time you spent responding to the incident, the type and total amount of your out-of-pocket expenses, and how many claims are filed. There are never any guarantees as to whether a data breach lawsuit will be successful or how much they could provide to consumers; however, some of the largest data breach settlements obtained via class action lawsuits include a $350 million deal with T-Mobile and a $190 million deal with Capital One.

We post class action settlements, including those involving data breaches, over on this page.

If you were affected by a data breach, you should receive a notice via email or regular mail about the incident and what information may have been exposed. All 50 states require that businesses and governments alert consumers if their personal information is breached.

If you’re interested in starting a class action lawsuit, you should know that those who elect to serve as a lead plaintiff are generally entitled to what’s known as a “service award” – that is, an additional payment for their help with the case. Typically, the lead plaintiff in a data breach case does not need to be involved as much as they would in other types of lawsuits. Depositions in these types of class actions are rare, and little documentation and information – aside from the initial data breach notice – is needed.

Plus, if you elect to serve as a lead plaintiff, you can feel good that you’re working to hold a company legally accountable for failing to protect the private information of potentially hundreds of thousands of individuals.