Yahoo data breach settlement: How to file a claim & get paid

If you had a Yahoo account anytime from 2012 to 2016, you may be in line to get paid. That’s because the email provider is involved in a pending class-action settlement.

The legal action stems from a data breach that happened between 2013 and 2016 in which millions of people’s email addresses and other personal data were stolen.

Yahoo data breach: How to file a claim and get paid

A year earlier, there were some additonal “data security intrusions” as well, Yahoo acknowledges in a recent email sent to those affected.

The settlement is yet to be approved by a judge (the final court date is set for April 2020), but Yahoo is informing users of their options now.

Here are four things you need to know about the Yahoo data breach settlement.

1. Who’s included in the settlement class?

The email provider says that if you had a Yahoo account at any point from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2016,  and live in the United States or Israel, you’re a class member in the settlement.

An easy way to know as well is if you’ve received an email notice of the settlement from Yahoo.

2. How large is the settlement & what’s included?

As part of the settlement, Yahoo is proposing a $117.5 million fund, which will pay for attorneys fees and more.

As a settlement member, you have the option of making a claim for two years of free credit monitoring. If you have multiple Yahoo accounts, the company says it will only provide free credit monitoring services for one person.

Yahoo says if you verify that you already have credit monitoring or ID protection services that you will keep for at least a year, you can make a claim for a $100 cash payment. About this, the settlement website says, “Although that amount may be less or more up to $358.80, depending on how many claims are submitted.”

There is also a provision for “alternative compensation” and reimbursement if you can prove that you lost time or suffered monetary losses due to the data breaches.

3. How do you submit a claim to get paid?

Here’s how you submit a claim in the Yahoo data breach settlement: Go online at YahooDataBreachSettlement.com and choose between the following claim forms:

• Account Holder Claim Form
• Paid User Claim Form
• Small Business User Claim Form
• Israeli Claim Form

Once you click one, you will see that there are instructional videos to guide you through the process.

To submit your claim via mail, download a hard copy of the claim form from the Documents page and mail to this address:

Yahoo! Inc. Customer Data Breach Security Litigation
c/o Settlement Administrator
PO Box 1760
Philadelphia PA 19105-1760

Alternatively, you can ask the Settlement Administrator to mail a Credit Monitoring Services or Alternative Compensation Claim Form to you by calling 844-702-2788 or emailing info@YahooDataBreachSettlement.com.

4. When do you need to file?

To get paid or receive the credit monitoring, you must file a claim anytime before July 20, 2020.

If you want to retain your right to sue Yahoo, you must opt out of the settlement class by March 6, 2020.

This is a lot of information, so if you have any questions, feel free to visit the settlement website.

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