After a series of data breaches, the class action lawsuit has been resolved. Cash App, which is one of the most popular mobile payment providers in the United States, has agreed to compensate each user who was affected by the breach with up to $2,500.
It is vital for us to have access to financial services apps like Cash App, Venmo, or PayPal in order to function in our day-to-day lives in this digital era, where traditional cash is gradually becoming obsolete.
The Cash app is an extremely flexible and comprehensive application… Additionally, it provides a bitcoin and stock exchange, a lightning wallet, and a bitcoin on-chain, in addition to providing peer-to-peer money transfer services.
A personalized debit card, savings accounts, and even short-term loans are some of the services that it provides, just like other traditional financial institutions.
We may have placed unquestioning faith in their cybersecurity protocols due to the fact that they offer such a diverse range of services and are so simple to use.
How did the data breach occur?
When December 2021 rolled around, the first data breach took place. A former employee of Cash App was later identified as the person responsible for the incident.
After leaving the company, the individual downloaded particular client reports that contained unauthorized information.
Due to this compromise, the sensitive personal information of 8.2 million Cash App users was taken into consideration. Taking into consideration that Cash App had 57 million users in 2024, this indicates that at least 14 percent of their customers were impacted by the data leak on its own.
In the aftermath of this, another security vulnerability was found, which involved unauthorized access that resulted in fraudulent transactions being made in user accounts.
A class action lawsuit was filed as a result of these instances, and as a result, Cash App is now required to reimburse customers who were harmed.
Who was responsable for it?
Despite the fact that it is known that a former Cash App employee was directly responsible for the initial data breach that occurred in December 2021, there is still no explanation for the subsequent security breaches that occurred, in which unauthorised persons were able to access customer accounts.
These occurrences involving cybersecurity have place over the course of several years.
Details that may be used for harmful purposes were compromised as a result of the personal information that was leaked during these instances and made available online.
The security breaches took place between the 23rd of August, 2018, and the 20th of August, 2024. For the purpose of evaluating eligibility, this period is quite important: if you reported unauthorized usage of your Cash App account during those dates, you should be eligible to submit a claim.
As a result of the two data breaches and the problems that surrounded unauthorized account access in Cash App, a major class action settlement has been negotiated.
In accordance with the terms of this $15 million settlement, users who were affected by these security flaws are eligible to receive compensation of up to $2,500.
How can Cash App users file a claim?
Anyone who has reason to believe that their Cash App or Cash App Investing account was accessed without authorization, who has experienced fraudulent transactions, or who believes that their personal data was compromised over the stated period of time is eligible to file a claim.
It is necessary for users to provide proof that demonstrates that they were affected in order to submit a claim.
papers such as Communications with Cash App reporting the breach, Police reports, correspondence with consumer protection authorities such as the Federal Trade.
Commission, and notifications to financial institutions or government agencies are some examples of the kind of papers that can be used as proof.
It is important to keep in mind that all claims must be submitted through the official website. of the settlement by the 18th of November, 2024.
A user has the option of filing an exclusion claim in the event that they do not choose to take part in the settlement and would like to maintain the opportunity to pursue independent legal action against Cash App in the future.
This category of claim gives persons the opportunity to withdraw from the settlement, thereby preserving their right to take additional legal action if they so choose. The deadline for submitting a claim for exclusion or objecting to the settlement is the first of November in the year 2024.
Despite the fact that the lawsuit alleges that Cash App and its parent company Block (which was formerly known as Square) engaged in irresponsible security procedures and failed to implement appropriate protocols.
Both companies have denied any wrongdoing in accordance with the allegations. On the other hand, the settlement is intended to resolve the breaches that resulted in fraudulent actions within user accounts and compromised sensitive personal information stored within those accounts.