Emily Sortor  |  August 5, 2020

Category: Data Breach

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Customers from Claire's jewelry store may have had their info compromised in a data breach.

A Claire’s jewelry store customer has filed a class action lawsuit against the accessory retail chain, saying the company’s lax security led to a data breach. 

Illinois resident Julia Rossi says that Claire’s jewelry store failed on multiple fronts in its handling of a June data breach. From a shoddy security system that enabled the breach to insufficient compensation after the fact, the company allegedly shirked responsibility to customers. She argues that customers entrusted their sensitive information to the company and face financial injury because of Claire’s shortcomings.

The Claire’s data breach class action lawsuit argues that Rossi made multiple online purchases through the Claire’s jewelry store website, and to so do, had to provide personal information including her card number, name, address, and other pieces of information. She says that, after this information was exposed in a June 2020 data breach, she experienced a range of problems. Rossi says that she was flooded with spam mail and phishing calls from unwanted and untrustworthy sources.

The Claire’s jewelry store security breach class action lawsuit asserts that Rossi is worried about even more serious effects of having her information exposed. She recounts that, in order to protect herself from identity theft, she has spent hours reviewing credit reports, monitoring her financial accounts, and being on the look out for fraud and identity theft.

Had she been aware that she would be exposed to a data breach, Rossi says that she would not have used the Claire’s jewelry store site to make purchases and would not have given the company her personal information. In her opinion, many other customers feel similarly and were similarly injured by the data breach.

The plaintiff states that Claire’s had a legal duty to protect its customers’ data. Moreover, they should have been well aware of the risks of data breaches in the retail industry, given recent high-profile accounts of data breaches experienced by other companies.

Rossi goes into detail about the data breach, explaining that on June 12, 2020, Claire’s jewelry store first became aware that their systems were suffering a data breach. Allegedly, a computer code had been added to the Claire’s site by a hacker, which allowed the hacker to obtain personal customer information. This information reportedly included data provided by a customer during checkout, including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, payment card numbers and expiration dates, payment card verification codes, and other sensitive information.

According to Rossi, the data breach was active from around April 7, 2020 to June 12, 2020, when it was discovered. However, she asserts that Claire’s did not inform its customers about the breach until July 7. Rossi takes issue with Claire’s choice to wait almost a full month to inform customers.

The Claire's jewelry store data breach allegedly compromised personal info.She says that waiting this long to notify customers robbed them of valuable time they could have used to secure their identity.

Rossi stresses that the information compromised in the Claire’s data breach is very valuable to hackers, as it can be sold on the dark web. Hackers and thieves reportedly use this information to commit fraud and identity theft.

Having this information fall into the wrong hands can reportedly expose consumers to serious financial injury which can often be irreparable or take years to repair, says the Claire’s jewelry store data breach class action lawsuit.

The best thing that a consumer can do in light of a data breach is to take swift action to change credit card numbers and passwords, or take other steps to protect their information security, says Rossi.

By not informing customers about the data breach for a month, the company allegedly prevented consumers from taking sufficient action to protect themselves. Rossi says that, even if the data breach had been stopped, the consumer information was still exposed and could have been further transferred.

Claire’s jewelry store officials have attempted to provide a remedy to consumers, but Rossi says it is not enough. She states that Claire’s has offered its customers one year of identity theft insurance. According to Rossi, this is “woefully inadequate” and will not be sufficient to help customers to protect their identity.

Have you had your information compromised in a data breach? Share your experiences in the comments below.

Rossi is represented by Katrina Carroll and Kyle A. Shamberg of Carlson Lynch LLP and Tina Wolfson, Henry Kelston, and Bradley K. King of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC.

The Claire’s Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Julia Rossi v. Claires Stores Inc., et al., Case No. 2020CH05218, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County Department, Chancery Division.

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22 thoughts onClaire’s Jewelry Store Customer Challenges Data Breach Response

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