Wells Fargo class action claims data breach impacted customer info

Wells Fargo class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Cynthia Beets filed a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank N.A. 
• Why: Beets claims Wells Fargo failed to properly secure and safeguard the “highly sensitive” personal information of its customers during a data breach the bank says went on between May 2022 and March 2023. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court. 

A new class action lawsuit alleges that Wells Fargo failed to properly safeguard and secure its customers’ “highly sensitive” personal information during a data breach disclosed by the bank to potentially affected consumers in or around early October 2024. 

Plaintiff Cynthia Beets’ class action lawsuit claims it took Wells Fargo more than two years after the data breach began to launch an investigation into the incident in July 2024. 

Beets argues Wells Fargo then informed affected customers in or around earlier this month that one of its former employees had accessed and, in some cases, used their customer information for fraudulent purposes between May 2022 and March 2023. 

“As a result of Defendant’s delayed detection of, and response to, the Data Breach, Plaintiff and Class Members had no idea for many years that their Private Information had been compromised,” the Wells Fargo class action says. 

Beets wants to represent a nationwide class of consumers who had their private information accessed and/or acquired as a result of the Wells Fargo data breach, including all who were sent a data breach notice. 

Wells Fargo customers at lifetime risk of identity theft, class action claims

The data breach exposed Wells Fargo customers’ names, addresses, birthdates, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and bank account numbers, among other things, according to the class action. 

Beets argues customers affected by the data breach, as a result of alleged delay in being informed, have been and will continue to be for the rest of their lives at a significant risk of identity theft and other forms of personal, social and financial harm. 

“Plaintiff and Class Members have suffered and are at an imminent, immediate, and continuing increased risk of suffering ascertainable losses in the form of harm from identity theft and other fraudulent misuse of their Private Information,” the Wells Fargo class action says. 

Beets alleges Wells Fargo is guilty of negligence, breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment. She demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of actual and statutory damages for herself and all class members. 

A consumer filed a separate class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo in September over claims the bank colluded with the American Arbitration Association to materially misrepresent the arbitration process and induce consumers to give up their rights to litigate their claims in court. 

Were you affected by the Wells Fargo data breach? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by John J. Nelson of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC and Tyler J. Bean of Siri & Glimstad LLP. 

The Wells Fargo data breach class action lawsuit is Beets, et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Case No. 3:24-cv-07114, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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