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A class action lawsuit has been filed against CenturyLink in relation to a data breach that allegedly exposed 2.8 million records of consumers’ personal identifiable information.
Plaintiff Noel U. Woodard says she had an email account with CenturyLink and that because of the data breach, third-parties were able to access her personal identifiable information. In addition, she states that third-parties were able to obtain access to her other online accounts.
For example, Woodward claims she received a notice Nov. 17, 2019, from her MyIDCare that one of her identity monitoring services had a new notification. She states she also received a phishing email Nov. 23, 2019, notifying her that her primary email account—which was linked to her CenturyLink account—was exposed to a data breach on Oct. 16, 2019.
Woodard says she was particularly concerned about the phishing email as they are advanced because they contain personalized information that makes them almost indistinguishable from legitimate emails.
As a result of this new activity, Woodard claims she undertook measures to ensure her identity had not been stolen and that her accounts had not been compromised. She says she has been required to place secondary control measures on several of her accounts to ensure she doesn’t lose access.
The plaintiff goes on to say she has incurred costs and expenses in the form of time spent, and time she will continue to spend, dealing with the theft of her personal identifiable information.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s conduct, Woodard has also been placed at an imminent, immediate, and continuing increased risk of harm from fraud and identity theft because her CenturyLink email account contains messages with even more sensitive PII (such as credit card numbers, financial information, tax information, etc.),” the CenturyLink class action lawsuit states.
Woodard claims that she has suffered anxiety and emotional distress because of the defendant’s failures to secure her personal identifiable information.
She also says she was further harmed because of CenturyLink’s failure to timely inform her of the data breach, as it allowed third-parties to continue to use her stolen information for deleterious means.
According to the plaintiff, CenturyLink maintains personal identifiable information of its customers, including customers’ names, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses and other account-specific information, and contents of email correspondence.
Woodard maintains that on Sept. 15, 2019, security researcher Bob Diachenko discovered that a CenturyLink database was made publicly available such that no authentication was required to access it.
Woodard claims that although Diachenko notified CenturyLink that same day, the database had already been exposed for around 10 months, which would have given malicious parties more than enough time to use the data in various schemes.
“CenturyLink’s failures to adopt, implement, maintain, and enforce proper data security policies and procedures resulted in Plaintiff’s and other similarly situated individuals’ PII being improperly exposed and disclosed to unauthorized third parties,” the CenturyLink class action lawsuit says.
According to the complaint, identity thieves can use stolen personal identifiable information for a variety of crimes, including credit card fraud, phone or utilities fraud and bank/finance fraud.
In addition, identity thieves can use such information to obtain a driver’s license or official identification card in the victim’s name, use the victim’s name to obtain government benefits or file a fraudulent tax return using the victim’s information.
The plaintiff maintains that she entrusted her personal identifiable information with CenturyLink in connection with the technology services provided to her by CenturyLink. She says the defendant failed to adopt and implement reasonable procedures to ensure her personal identifiable information would be protected from access by malicious third-parties.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s conduct, Plaintiff and Class members have been placed at an imminent, immediate, and continuing increased risk of harm from fraud and identity theft,” the CenturyLink class action lawsuit says.
The plaintiff and potential Class Members have or will suffer actual injury as a direct result of the data breach, Woodard says.
She explains that, in addition to the financial fraud and damage to her credit, many victims will suffer ascertainable losses in the form of out-of-pocket expenses and the value of their time in trying to mitigate the results of the breach.
“Plaintiff and Class members have an interest in ensuring that their personal and financial information, which is believed to remain in the possession of Defendant, is protected from further breaches by the implementation of security measures and safeguards,” the CenturyLink class action lawsuit says.
Are you a customer of CenturyLink and have had your personal identifiable information breached? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Melissa A. Huelsman of the Law Offices of Melissa A. Huelsman P.S., Marc E. Dann or DannLaw, and Thomas A. Zimmerman, Jr. of Zimmerman Law Offices.
The CenturyLink Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Noel U. Woodard v. CenturyLink Inc., Case No. 2:20-cv-00917, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
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51 thoughts onCenturyLink Class Action Says Data Breach Exposed Customers’ Info
First I was hacked by X-Finity, and signed up for a new membership with Century Link, however, I am experiencing the same things with them as I had with X-Finity. I have filed with the better business bureau, the Attorney General’s office, put fraud alert on my 3 credit bureaus. however, I still am being hacked by these two companies. What can I do? I need my phone and internet for bill pay because the companies are not sending out paper bills anymore. These companies are sending incorrect information on the computer. They are intercepting our emails and phone calls. We live in America and have allowed our entire lives to be controlled by these people from other countries. Please add me to your class action suit. I suffer from stage 4 cancer ad need help with dealing with these companies. thanks.
i am a victum of this breach also. in 2017, i discovered a hacker had got my personal information and took over my online store, my computer and my phone. I know that someone from century link or the fact it was open,my information got,out on the dark web and i am still being hacked to this day. I have a ton of information about this. can anyone recommend a good lawyer that knows about cyber crimes.
Century link has caused every avenue of my life to be filled with issues because of their negligence ive came close to loosing my business 3times since 2019 because of I couldn’t get a lone. The simply not enough space on this page state all the problems I faced do to Centrylink
My accounts have all been compromised and Centurylink not only ignores my questions and issues but the service is rude and gives poor advice. Today I was told to trust my modem’s certificate although it has a warning and seems to be compromised as well. This bad advice would’ve provided complete access to do anything the hackers wanted. I’m disgusted. Count me in.
OMG!! I am so happy to of found this page. I don’t even know where to start. It’s been a few years of complete h*ll with Centurylink! Fraudulent activity constantly and lying agents that have been trained to not talk too much. All of my information was stolen with one act of fraud after another. Now my account is locked after 20 years of having my Centurylink account. Agents keep telling me that they are doing updates… updates for over a month?!?! The scammer has stole my identity from my Centurylink account has gotten away with thousands…Several thousands… and even tried to blackmail me by telling me he has all of my personal information through my email, and if I don’t pay in, then he will expose all of my personal information. I took a screen shot of this for proof. It’s sickening. My Vrbo, abnb, & Venmo account was also hacked! I am a host of STR’s and all of my pay was going to a scammers bank account…. Causing Airbnb to shut down my account during the investigation, causing me to lose pay. I’ve had my Wayfair account hacked for thousands in pots & pans (box after box), ordered and delivered to some address in New Orleans, when I live in Utah. Centurylink was the hackers go to for stealing thousands. Why weren’t we better protected? Please help!!!
Century Link has allowed my information to be hacked. Went after my bank accounts, Social Security and apps. Heart wrenching and so stressful to me.
Add me please
CenturyLink was like bad 2015 to present
My husband and I have spent all our time and effort last week trying to clear our way out of problems caused by Century Link and its sloppy handling of our sensitive information and lack of overight of frausters sending out spoofing emails, fishing for more info. They apparently do not care. There is really no one at Century Link to report these crimes to in order to get them rectified. I stopped using Century Link for my emails severla years ago after so many fraudulent emails received and told my husband to also do so. He has also now learned…the hard way and has gotten a new email with another service and spent many days getting all his contacts off Century Link. What happened to the days when the FCC controlled communication companies and licensed them or penalized them for misdeeds? If Century Link cannot safeguard their records, they need to be put out of business once and for all. Please count me in on any lawsuit against Century Link for databreach.
I believe we have been a victim of the CL data breach. Three others in my family are also affected. We have had bank accounts hacked and money stolen from them. Multiple credit card applications have been filed in our names. We discovered the breach a week ago and are already inundated with fraud instances.
The hackers have repeatedly broken into email accounts changed passwords. We cannot even use our email at this point without fear of giving the hackers even more information about other accounts.
Please add us. Thank you.
We recently built & moved into our first home in May 2021. Escrow items, including the completion of the sod & srubs surrounding our home have still not been completed – pushing them well past their agreed upon July 15th completion date. Conveniently, this has left many wires exposed & easily accessible for anyone to manipulate. – one has to question how & why?
Our home is located in a new development, so tons of construction & tons of traffic – constantly. Since the installation of CenturyLink fiber in June of 2021 in our home (which was oddly extremely slow), we have experienced a continuous loss of peace in our home, personal, professional & financial security through the breaching of several devices in our home & our home itself. – when abused, apps like MyQ & SimliSafe are crippling for end users. All of our devices have been shut off & replaced or are waiting replacement so we can ensure to avoid creating another access point with an old device after a new internet installation.
After we called CenturyLink to inform them that a cyber security consultation at our home revealed a compromised modem/router, the line disconnected & our online account was switched to archived. We could no longer access our account. An answer needs to be provided.