Yahoo Data-Breach Settlement: You'll Get $100, If You're Lucky 36
People who had Yahoo accounts between 2012 and 2016 can now apply for a cash payment of $100, but the final amount you receive could be more or less than $100 depending on how many people file claims. From a report: It's also possible to file claims for up to $25,000 if you can document actual out-of-pocket losses and lost time due to the breach. However, actual payouts for all claims could be much lower if the total amount claimed exceeds what's available from the $117.5 million settlement. The settlement class potentially includes up to 194 million people, so these amounts would be paid in full only if the vast majority of eligible people don't ask for money. The settlement website lets all class members choose from at least two years of free credit monitoring services or the $100 cash payment. While that amount isn't guaranteed, just like in the Equifax settlement, at least the Yahoo settlement website makes that clear up front.
If you could travel back in time... (Score:2)
Re:If you could travel back in time... (Score:4, Insightful)
opening a bunch of bank accounts under aliases
To open these fake bank accounts, you will needs names, DOB, and SSNs. Fortunately, plenty of these are available online because of all the breaches.
Re: (Score:2)
How serendipitous! Yes, must remember to load that data into the time capsule before takeoff.
I'll never understand why the world works this way (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I'll never understand why the world works this (Score:4, Insightful)
How did we come to this "fuck the people, save the company" mentality?
Because companies are people too. Liquidation would destroy employees's livelihoods, drain pension funds, and inconvenience customers, while doing almost nothing to help the victims or punish the incompetent.
Re: I'll never understand why the world works this (Score:3)
What happened to Schumpeter's "creative destruction"? Liquidate the malefactors, and open up new market opportunities for better companies.
But I guess our Owners only believe in creative destruction when it's good jobs being destroyed for private profit.
Re: (Score:2)
How did we come to this "fuck the people, save the company" mentality?
Because companies are people too. Liquidation would destroy employees's livelihoods, drain pension funds, and inconvenience customers, while doing almost nothing to help the victims or punish the incompetent.
Great idea, this way companies will never have any incentive to invest in privacy and security.
You do not need to gut the company, but you have to hurt them financially (or hold the managers to account).
Re: (Score:2)
"figure out what that harm is worth to each harmed individual"
In these cases they can't even figure out if there was actual harm in each individual case, let alone the value of each individual harm. The potential harm per case is likely not large but the number of cases of potential harm is, so in terms of incentivizing a change of behavior it is probably more effective to come up with the total number up front and divide it later.
That's why it's called a "settlement" (Score:3)
Suppose I think you owe me $500.
You think you owe me $50. We *could* go to court, which would mean we both have to take off work for two days, and we both take the risk of not knowing what the court will decide. We could also agree that you'll pay me $100 and we call it good. We don't have to go to court, or take the risk of losing. That's called a settlement.
The plaintiffs think Yahoo should pay $xxx each.
Yahoo thinks they should pay $xx each. The lawyers got together and settled on $100 each.
The plai
Re: (Score:2)
The lawyers got together and settled on $100 each.
I think you're vastly underestimating how much the lawyers are getting paid here. Every time they read an email, respond to an email or take a phone call that's another $50 in their pocket. To get an individual's bank details out of them is reading and replying to at least two emails, plus a phone call to confirm the details because they can't accept the details given over email - despite the lawyer initiating the email thread asking for the bank details in the first place.
Out of the $117.5 million settleme
Actually $0 of the $117.5 million (Score:3)
> Out of the $117.5 million settlement you could safely assume that the lawyers will be getting at least $58.75 million of that.
Actually they are getting $0 of that. But thanks for guessing.
The $117.5 million settlement fund goes to class members (consumers).
Separately, Yahoo must also pay attorneys fees and expenses. The judge said the requested $35 million in expenses and fees was much too high and didn't approve that proposal. The exact number hasn't been settled just yet. Attorneys will hav
Zero Value Settlement (Score:1)
Yet another settlement that has zero value for consumers.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
It's really about the deterrent effect here---that and lining the pockets of^W^W^W^Wcompensating the hard-working class-action lawyers.
Re: (Score:2)
They could never hope to repay us for the friendships destroyed or the lives lost.
Also climate change and global nuclear war (the breach may have included nuclear launch codes).
Credit report monitoring? (Score:2)
That's why the $100 (Score:2)
Time was, they got away with buying credit monitoring for the victims. Victims' attorneys pointed out that people already HAVE credit monitoring. That's why the Equifax and Yahoo settlements have a cash option.
Something wrong with $100? (Score:2)
I'll take my $100 thanks. And frame the cheque. :-)
Re: (Score:1)
You know they're just going to compile a big database of all the personal data on the people who they paid the settlement to then leak all that, too, right? We will literally never be free of them this way. They need to be jailed. Real penalties for real crimes.
Re: (Score:2)
Yah, sure, that's part of my plan. Get the check, get my data leaked and get another check for that settlement! Infallible.
Re: (Score:1)
Then you should cut out the middle-man and just sell your identity to organized crime directly.
Re: (Score:2)
Or just join a crime family, good point, you're on to something. Why don't you try it? But be careful about leaking your identity.
Nice broken form... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, happened to me as well in Chrome. Just re-fill in a couple of fields (they don't all stay filled in) and try again and it works on the second attempt.
The Data Game (Score:2)
Yahoo to Users: We sold your data. Here, you get 2 years of free credit-monitoring (whatever good that does), or $100. The choice is yours.
Users to Yahoo: I think I just want my data back instead. It wasn't for sale anyway.
Yahoo to Users: Hahahahahahaaaa...... no.
I feel like the US government should step in and overhaul the whole country. Change everyone's name, social security number, all credit-reporting should be wiped, bank accounts changed and let's just start over.
Re: (Score:2)
I feel like the US government should step in and overhaul the whole country. Change everyone's name, social security number, all credit-reporting should be wiped, bank accounts changed and let's just start over.
Then we'd have a new database full of information to correlate across the change, and that database would be subject to security breaches. Additionally, there's be a relatively small but large in an absolute sense group of people who get screwed up in the transition, and the problem will be so hard to fix that instead we'll just have some heuristic way for low-level people to handle it (basically "security via fax transmission" for the modern age).
But, otherwise, great idea.
Re: (Score:2)
I feel like the US government should step in and overhaul the whole country. Change everyone's name, social security number, all credit-reporting should be wiped, bank accounts changed and let's just start over.
You have more faith in the US Government than I do. I hear you on let's start over. Maybe when the US splits up we'll get a real chance to do that. Until then we get stuck being ruled by 5 justices because the two parties are so deadlocked.
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe when the US splits up we'll get a real chance to do that.
Please mark parent up as Insightful.
How many parts do you see it splitting into? Waaay back in 1996, I discussed this possibility with a good friend. We determined it'd be 6 parts.
Re: (Score:2)
How many parts do you see it splitting into? Waaay back in 1996, I discussed this possibility with a good friend. We determined it'd be 6 parts.
'96? You're more perceptive than me. For me the first real clue was 2000. That was a bitter election. Every election since has also been bitter. The time has come to see that we've just gotten too distant in our values as a nation and split up.
I've read many a discussion with numbers ranging from 2 (bad idea and simplistic) to as many as 12 (seems too many). I think 4-7 would be how it lands. The big key in my mind is getting it to happen. As long as we're stuck in this unhappy marriage nothing ca
you must have credit monitoring (Score:1)
I tried to file a claim for the cash, and the form page would not let me submit it unless I stated I already have a credit monitoring service.
You cannot get the cash without credit monitoring!
Residents of Israel as well (Score:2)
Interesting that residents of Israel are also covered by this American case.
"You'll get nothing and like it" (Score:2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]