Experian Facing Class Action over Data Breach

This class action alleges that Experian failed to adequately safeguard the personal information of roughly 15 million persons, which was stolen by hackers from Experian. The information includes names, addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth, and so on. 

Experian, the world’s largest credit checking company and contract-holder with T-Mobile, was hacked, and the attack released the personal details of millions to the culprit(s). T-Mobile customers and applicants who required a credit check for service or device financing were affected. The time period of the data breach is September 1, 2013 through September 15, 2015, when the hacker(s) gained personal details such as the name, address, date of birth, social security number, and identification numbers from drivers’ licenses and passports, of T-Mobile consumers.

Experian holds the data on millions of businesses and consumers. The company conducts billions of credit checks per year. Consequently, Experian is a much-desired target for hackers who know that identity theft has become more profitable than even stealing credit card information. T-Mobile, the fastest growing mobile network in America, is livid that the attack was possible, and is considering cancelling the contract they have with Experian. John Legere is the chief executive of T-Mobile in the United States, and he stated that his company, “is working as fast as possible to provide alternate protection options” to its customers.

Lawsuits related to data breaches are becoming more common as hackers are more adept at accessing consumer information that is supposed to be secure. Other notable data breaches in the U.S. that have led to lawsuits include personal information stolen from mega-corporations such as Target, Staples, Sony, and Home Depot. One of the issues in the Experian and T-Mobile breach is that Experian, after becoming aware of the hack, took two weeks to acknowledge what happened and alert those potentially affected. The company may have quickly taken steps to secure the server, initiate an investigation, and warn law enforcement. Yet, the two-week lag time in alerting the public may have made them more susceptible to further fraud and identity theft.

Experian has stated it is currently in the process of notifying the many millions who have been affected. Both T-Mobile and Experian have posted warnings of the data breach on their respective websites. The compromise of personal information is a serious legal issue, and lawsuits are filed as the result of deceptive or unfair actions in the course of any trade or purchase. In addition to personal notifications of the data breach, Experian is offering those affected two free years of credit monitoring and identity resolution services. 

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Exposing Private Information, Stolen Financial Information, Your Privacy