Virginia will get $346,085.82 of more than $15 million from multi-state settlements with Experian and T-Mobile after a 2015 data breach of information from the companies’ customers.
“The 2015 data breach affected hundreds of thousands of Virginians, putting their personal information at risk. Companies like T-Mobile and Experian have a responsibility to ensure the safety of consumers’ information, and when they fail, they have to be held accountable,” Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a Monday press release.
The breach of Experian’s network exposed data of 15 million individuals, including 340,000 Virginians, who submitted credit applications to T-Mobile between September 2013 and September 2015. Exposed information included names, address, dates of birth, and identification numbers. The investigation into the breach was led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, according to a Healey press release.
In 2012, the U.S. Secret Service warned Experian of a thief retrieving private information; Healey’s office said Experian didn’t notify customers. Then, in 2015, Experian reported the breach of T-Mobile customers’ data.
The coalition of states is receiving about $12.67 million from the settlement with credit bureau Experian, and $2.43 million from a separate settlement with T-Mobile. Experian also agreed to provide five years of free credit monitoring to affected customers on top of four years of credit monitoring previously offered.
To enroll and check eligibility, consumers should visit https://www.tmobileapplicant2015eisdatabreachsettlement.com/
Experian and T-Mobile have also agreed to implement various measures to strengthen security and oversight.
The settlement in the 2015 case is separate from the August 2021 T-Mobile data breach that saw 76 million people affected, according to CNET, which recently reported that a $350 million settlement is pending in that case. That would be the second-largest data breach payout after credit bureau Equifax’s $700 million payment stemming from a 2017 data breach.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “T-Mobile Building” by ŠJů. CC BY-SA 3.0.
