GoKawiilIf you're a Comcast customer, you may be eligible to claim part of a $117.5 million data breach settlement. The recent case centers on a cybersecurity incident from October 2023 in which millions of Xfinity customers' personal information was accessed by data thieves.
When Comcast notified users of the breach (PDF) in December 2023, the company admitted data thieves stole usernames, passwords, names, contact information, dates of birth and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
In a class action lawsuit, Hasson v. Comcast Cable Communications LLC (PDF), customers contended that Comcast was responsible for financial damages and for the time spent pursuing identity theft protection related to the breach. While Comcast denied any wrongdoing, the company reached a preliminary settlement in January, agreeing to pay $117.5 million to 36 million affected customers.
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The official settlement website is now live, although payments won't begin until after the court's final approval hearing. That hearing is currently scheduled for July 7.
If you qualify for a settlement payout, you can file on the website now. You need a unique settlement member ID number included within the initial online communication sent to affected Comcast customers to file the claim.
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Read more: The $135M Google Data Settlement Site Is Live. See if You're Eligible
You have multiple options if you don't want to file a claim. If you object to the agreed-upon settlement, you can write to the court or ask permission to speak at the final approval hearing.
You can also opt out of the settlement, which will allow you to retain your right to separately sue Comcast in relation to this data breach. If you don't file a claim or opt out of the settlement by Aug. 14, you will lose out on payment from this settlement.
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