Massive Data Breach Exposes Capital One Customers to Lifelong Identity Theft Risk

A new class action lawsuit claims that a massive data breach has exposed thousands of Capital One customers’ sensitive data, putting them at lifelong risk of identity theft.

Details of the Lawsuit

Plaintiff Andrew Willoughby filed the lawsuit, alleging that Capital One Financial Corporation, Capital One N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA) N.A. entities exposed customers’ personal identifiable information (PII) due to an employee’s negligence.

The suit claims that inadequately protected computer systems led to the exposure of customers’ names, Social Security numbers, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers, credit card numbers, transaction history, and other financial information.

The breach occurred between August 11, 2022, and May 22, 2023, when an “unauthorized actor” accessed client PII due to the employee’s “failure to maintain an adequate security system.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the Capital One employee delayed informing the plaintiffs of the breach, leaving them vulnerable to potential identity theft crimes.

Impact on Customers

The lawsuit states that as a result of the breach, Capital One customers will have to face the threat of identity theft for the rest of their lives. The exposed PII may end up for sale on the dark web or be used for targeted marketing without the approval of the affected individuals.

Unauthorized individuals could easily access the PII of the plaintiffs and use it for malicious purposes.

Additional Allegations

In addition to the data breach, Capital One has also faced accusations of engaging in “cancel culture” by President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump. Despite these allegations, the bank still holds $490.1 billion in total assets as of the end of last year.

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