Were You Affected by the Capital One Breach?

A recently discovered Capital One breach involved the theft of millions of customer records from Capital One due to a specific security vulnerability. If your information was affected in the data breach, you may be able to join a class action lawsuit investigation and pursue compensation.

What Was the Capital One Breach?

A hacker used a security flaw in Amazon’s cloud technology to steal 106 million Capital One customer records in the U.S. and Canada. Through this, the alleged hacker, Paige Thompson, found a misconfigured setting in Capital One security that allowed her to access these records and download them without triggering an alert.

Data exposed during the breach includes consumers’ personal information, including 140,000 Social Security numbers and 80,000 bank account numbers, as well as birthdays, addresses, and more. Reportedly, consumers’ credit card numbers themselves weren’t among the swaths of information stolen in the hack.

“The largest category of information accessed was information on consumers and small businesses as of the time they applied for one of our credit card products from 2005 through early 2019,” said Capital One in a statement posted on their website.

The hacker who conducted the major breach is scheduled for a bail hearing on August 15.

Capital One says that this configuration issue has been addressed.

What Do I Do if I Was Affected by the Breach?

If you were affected by the Capital One breach, like 6 million Canadians and millions of Americans, there are a number of steps you can take.

First and foremost, keep an eye out for any communications from Capital One. You can also contact the company through the email address listed on its website, or call the bank directly. Be wary of actually replying to emails purportedly from Capital One; the company notes that some people may take advantage of the news of the breach and attempt a phishing scam on affected consumers.

You can sign up for a credit monitoring service, which can help stop a potential fraudster from opening an account under your name. (Of course, even if you were not affected by this particular breach, this might be a good step for you anyway—more data breaches are likely to happen at some point in the future, so you can be prepared in advance.)

In order to keep alert to any potential fraud in the future, you may also choose to set up alerts on your credit cards, make a routine of checking your credit card statements more than once a month, and ensure you know how to freeze your credit if necessary.

Can I File a Capital One Data Breach Lawsuit?

If you believe that your personal information was affected by the Capital One breach, you may be able to join this class action lawsuit investigation and pursue compensation.

Filing a data breach lawsuit can offer some financial compensation for the exposure of your personal information, as well as hold those responsible accountable. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

Join a Free Capital One Data Breach Lawsuit Investigation

If you applied for a Capital One credit card between 2005 and 2019 in the United States or Canada, you may may qualify to join this Capital One data breach class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.