Wawa Data Breach Lawsuit Investigation
December 24, 2019 Last Updated on February 22, 2021
Important Information
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are no longer investigating this matter. The information here is for reference only. A list of open investigations and lawsuits can be viewed here.
Case Update
- February 22, 2021 – Settlement Reached
- Attorneys for the plaintiffs have asked the court to preliminarily approve a $12 million settlement to resolve claims that Wawa failed to take adequate steps to protect the payment card information of its customers.
Under the proposed deal, approximately 22 million Wawa customers would be eligible for a piece of the settlement, which provides Wawa gift cards and cash payments. The settlement, if approved, would also require Wawa to strengthen its “payment processing environment.”
Stay tuned for updates, including when the settlement website will go live. You can also sign up for our newsletter to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. - November 3, 2020 – Investigation Closed, Settlement in the Works
- Thank you to everyone who helped contribute to this investigation. At this point, attorneys working with ClassAction.org no longer need to hear from people looking to serve as class representatives in this matter. According to a letter entered with the court, a settlement is currently in the works that will “encompass all Wawa customers who used a payment card during the period of time involved in the Wawa data security incident.”
Stay tuned to this page for updates on the settlement and make sure to sign up for our newsletter for the latest. The information below exists for reference only.
At A Glance
- This Alert Affects
- Anyone who used a credit or debit card at a Wawa convenience store or gas pump from March 4, 2019 to December 12, 2019.
- What's Going On?
- Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have filed a class action lawsuit in the wake of the Wawa data breach.
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have filed a class action lawsuit against Wawa, Inc. on behalf of millions of consumers whose credit and debit card numbers were stolen by a computer hacker.
The hacker stole the credit and debit card numbers for transactions that took place from March 4, 2019 to December 12, 2019 at in-store terminals and gas pumps.
The cyber-attack involves card transactions at all or virtually all of Wawa’s 850 locations. Wawa operates convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Washington, D.C.
What You Can Do
Attorneys are seeking “Class Representatives” to serve as additional plaintiffs in the class action. Class Representatives are individuals who are named in the lawsuit and who pursue the litigation on behalf of the class (the millions of consumers affected by the breach). The Class Representatives’ facts serve as an illustration of how typical class members were affected by the breach. Their presence in the case also triggers the law of their particular state, which helps the overall litigation. In general, the more Class Representatives there are, the stronger the case becomes.
Attorneys are most interested in Class Representatives who meet both of the following requirements:
- Used a credit or debit card at any Wawa location from March 4, 2019 to December 12, 2019; and
- Experienced a subsequent fraudulent transaction on the same card.
About the Data Breach
The breach involved “payment card information including credit and debit card numbers, expiration dates, and cardholder names on payment cards,” according to Wawa’s announcement.
Risks to Consumers
Armed with the stolen information, data thieves can make fraudulent purchases on victims’ cards.
As a result of the breach, Wawa customers have been exposed to a heightened risk of fraud and must now closely monitor their credit and debit card accounts to guard against unauthorized purchases.
Consumers might also incur out-of-pocket costs for purchasing credit monitoring services, credit freezes, credit reports, or other protective measures to detect identity theft.
About Data Breach Class Actions
Data breach class actions typically seek: (i) compensation for out-of-pocket losses and time spent responding to the breach; (ii) credit monitoring and identity theft insurance for several years; and (iii) substantial improvements to the defendant’s data security procedures.
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