Saks Fifth Avenue Data Breach Alleges Customer Info Was Sold on Dark Web

Two consumers have filed a Saks Fifth Avenue data breach lawsuit alleging the upscale retailer failed to provide reasonable safeguards for customers’ personal financial information.

Criminal hacking syndicate Joker’s Stash announced on March 28, 2018 that its hackers had infiltrated and stolen credit card and debit card information from Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF Fifth and Lord & Taylor back in May 2017. Nearly 5 million customers allegedly were affected.

Joker’s Stash allegedly stole “dumps,” which includes debit and credit card information that is sold on the dark web. Criminals buy the personal records and use the information to make fraudulent purchases and commit identity theft.

Joker’s Stash has operated since 2014. The criminal entity sets itself apart by selling only dumps that the company itself hacks. Loyalty programs allegedly reward customers by offering a certain discount to fraudsters who buy a higher number of stolen accounts.

Saks Fifth Avenue Data Breach Info Worth Money

According to a Saks Fifth Avenue data breach lawsuit, the fact that the customers’ information “was stolen in order to be sold on the dark web – and is presently offered for sale to cyber criminals on the dark web – demonstrates the monetary value of the Private Information.”

The Federal Trade Commission’s former commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour reportedly said during an FTC roundtable presentation that “Data is currency. The larger the data set, the greater potential for analysis – and profit.”

The Saks Fifth Avenue data breach lawsuit alleges that Saks should have known about previous data breaches at other retail stores in the years leading up to its own data breach.

Plaintiffs say that the company should have been aware that its own payment systems did not securely or adequately safeguard the plaintiffs’ private information and that of the other class members.

Alleged Damages from Saks Fifth Avenue Data Breach

Plaintiffs and Class Members allege they will continue to suffer damages related to the improper disclosure and possible dissemination of the private information. They allegedly will continue to spend time “mitigating the increased risk of identify theft and/or identity fraud.”

Plaintiffs say they will be deprived of the sheer value of their private information because their information is at risk of being sold to criminals who conduct business on the dark web.

The data breach class action lawsuit also alleges that because Saks Fifth Avenue data breach victims were not notified in a timely fashion, their information may have been further compromised. Saks did not inform consumers that the data breach had occurred until almost a full year after it had occurred.

A photo from the Joker’s Stash site advertising the Saks Fifth Avenue data breach information for sale accompanies the lawsuit paperwork.

The Saks Fifth Avenue Data Breach Lawsuit is Jeanne Sacklow and Erika Targum, individually and on behalf of all other similarly situated, v. Saks Incorporated, Case No. 3:18-cv-00360 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Join a Free Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

Consumers affected by the 2017 Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF Fifth, and Lord & Taylor data breach incidents may qualify to join a free data breach class action lawsuit investigation. A data breach lawsuit could help you or a loved one recover compensation for stolen credit card information and the threat of identity theft.

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