Plaintiffs have accused Yapstone of committing serious data breaches and failing to take prompt measures to stem the loss of sensitive consumer data. The breach of data includes Yapstone user names, birth dates, bank account information, passport numbers, driver’s license numbers, and Social Security numbers, According to the class action lawsuit, Yapstone allowed personal data to become vulnerable to theft by failing to secure its website addresses between July 15, 2014 and August 5, 2015.
Once Yapstone uncovered the data breaches, the company sent an Incident Notice for every user affected by the data breaches. Yapstone offered affected users two years of credit protection and fraud resolution at no costs to consumers.
The plaintiffs allege in the class action lawsuit that Yapstone failed “to take reasonable steps to keep its users’ data secure.” Class counsel has stated that eligible class members might receive 12 free months of using an identity monitoring service. The class action settlement also mandates that Yapstone develop new measures to enhance website data security. The judge and litigators in the case have not reached an agreement on how Yapstone will be monitored to ensure it complies with the mandate to implement new strategies to protect personal data. The final hearing should determine the guidelines for Yapstone to follow.
Yapstone must also create a fund worth $120,000 as a donation to Public Justice and the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity located at the University Of California Berkeley School Of Information. The company denies every one of the plaintiffs’ allegations, but has decided to settle the class action lawsuit to limit litigation costs.
What You Need to Know
According to the class action settlement website www.YapstoneSettlement.com “Persons may be eligible for settlement benefits if their Social Security number, driver’s license number, or passport number was among the information potentially exposed; if they were sent an Incident Notice from Yapstone; and if they did not sign up for the free two-year credit protection and fraud resolution offered in the Incident Notice.” ProtectMyID® Identity Monitoring Services represents the company chosen to offer identity monitoring services for eligible class members.
Class members must submit contact information on claim forms mailed to the claim administrator or by completing the claim administrator’s online form. You have until October 10, 2017 to file a claim form to join the Yapstone class. Yapstone Data Breach, Case No. 4:15-cv-04429, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California conducts a final hearing on August 4, 2017.
Class Counsel includes Tina Wolfson and Robert Ahdoot from Ahdoot & Wolfson. Defense counsel comprises Ronald Irvin Raether, Jr., Mark C. Mao, Jessica Rose, and Ellis Lohr, who represent the law firm Troutman Sanders LLP.
