Matco Tools Corporation Data Breach Class Action

Matco Tools Corporation is a franchise that distributes professional tools to the auto and other industries. The complaint for this class action alleges that Matco bears responsibility for a data breach of its systems and the theft from them of personally identifying information (PII) as well as financial information.

The class for this action is all individuals in the US whose personal information was exposed in the data breach of Matco Tools Corporation, which took place on or around March 1, 2022.

According to the complaint, an unauthorized party accessed Matco’s systems on March 1, 2022 and stole PII and financial information. The complaint alleges this would not have occurred if Matco had put into practice “reasonable data security measures.” When Matco discovered the breach, it began an investigation with the help of an unidentified cybersecurity company.

The information stolen in the data breach, the complaint alleges, includes names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and/or financial information.

“Because this data breach targeted financial and personally identifying information,” the complaint alleges, “it is reasonable to infer that the hackers will use victims’ data for fraudulent purposes, including identity theft.” The Notice Letter warns the individual victims that they should get credit monitoring and identity theft protection services because of the possible misuse of their information, the complaint says, but there is no sign in the complaint that Matco has offered to pay for this protection.

Also, the complaint alleges, “Nothing in the breach letter describes the cause of the breach, who might have been responsible, or any matters taken by Matco to prevent further breaches in the future.”

Because Matco makes a practice of taking and storing PII and financial information, the complaint alleges that “the burden (if any) of implementing reasonable data security practices is minimal in comparison to the substantial and highly foreseeable risk of harm” to the victims if that information is stolen.

The complaint faults Matco for the data breach, suggesting that “Matco failed to adequately train its employees on even the basic cybersecurity protocols” and provides a list of these.

“On information and belief,” it also says, “Matco’s use of outdated and insecure computer systems and software that are easy to hack, and its failure to maintain adequate security measures and an up-to-date technology security strategy, demonstrates a willful and conscious disregard for privacy, and has exposed the PII” in its systems “to unscrupulous operators, con artists, and outright criminals.”

According to the complaint, Matco has violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act because it did not take reasonable precautions to protect the PII it held in its systems.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Privacy
Tags: Exposing Private Information, Exposure to cyber crime, Your Privacy