Claim your cash! Capital One is paying out a $190M settlement

September 26, 2022

By Kim Komando

Shivers probably run down your spine when you hear that your bank has been the victim of a data breach. It could put your finances at risk. That happened to Capital One in 2019, when a hacker managed to breach its systems. Tap or click here for a recent data breach that exposed 1.5 million Social Security numbers.

Affecting about 98 million Capital One customers, the attack exposed personal information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, and self-reported income. In addition, the hacker made off with about 120,000 Social Security numbers and 80,000 linked bank account numbers.

If the breach impacted you, you might be eligible to receive a portion of this enormous settlement. Keep reading for details on how to claim your share.

Here’s the backstory

In 2019, a cybercriminal accessed the transactional data, including 23 separate days from 2016, 2017 and 2018. After Capital One announced the data breach, affected customers filed several lawsuits against the bank.

The lawsuits included Amazon and GitHub, as lawyers argued that the two companies knew of the exploited flaw in Capital One’s system. After an investigation, the FBI arrested former Amazon Web Services software engineer Paige Thompson. AWS is Capital One’s cloud hosting provider.

According to the lawsuit’s website, it won’t appear in court, as a settlement has been agreed to. The settlement is around $190 million, which Capital One will pay into a Settlement Fund.

The fund will cover various things, such as cash payments, purchasing Identity Defense Services for those impacted and paying for restoration services for all settlement class-action members.

What you can do about it

If you received a settlement notice, you are a class-action member eligible to file a claim. But you must hurry, as the deadline for claim submissions closes on Sept. 30, 2022.

If you misplaced your notice with your Unique ID and a PIN, or you’re unsure if you are part of the lawsuit, you can call 1-855-604-1811 or contact the Settlement Administrator at info@CapitalOneSettlement.com.

Eligible customers can claim:

• Identity Defense Services.
• Reimbursement for the money you spent trying to avoid or recover from fraud or identity theft that you believe is traceable to the Capital One data breach. If you fall into this category, you can claim up to $25,000.
• Reimbursement for lost time trying to avoid or recover from fraud or identity theft that you believe is fairly traceable to the Capital One data breach. If you fall into this category, you can claim up to $25 per hour or your documented hourly wage for up to five hours.

How to stay protected after a massive data breach

Whenever there is an enormous data breach, there are security precautions that you must take to stay protected. Here are some ways to guard your online accounts and finances.

• Beware of phishing emails hitting your inbox. Scammers piggyback on breaches by sending malicious emails to trick you into clicking their links that supposedly have important information. Look out for strange URLs, return addresses and spelling/grammar errors. It’s good practice to never click on links or attachments in unsolicited emails or text messages.
• Keep an eye on your banking statements for any unusual transactions. If you see anything strange, notify your bank immediately.
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for all your online accounts that offer it. This will make it more difficult for hackers to access your accounts. 
• Check haveibeenpwned.com. Enter your email address into this online database to reveal which data breaches you might be involved in.
• Always have a trusted antivirus program updated and running on all your devices. We recommend our sponsor, TotalAV. Get an annual plan with TotalAV for only $19 at ProtectWithKim.com. That’s over 85% off the regular price!

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