All businesses have a duty to safeguard employee records and other sensitive information related to the people they employ including names, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, and income information to name a few items. This is the exact information that scammers are looking for to perpetrate identity theft. One tactic scammers use to obtain this sensitive personally identifying information is phishing. Phishing, or email spoofing, is a scheme involving the transmission of fraudulent emails that impersonate a person of authority within a company and requests personal identification information, like W-2 tax forms or other sensitive documents to commit fraud.
An alarming number of businesses have responded to phishing emails and released sensitive personal information on thousands of employees to cyber thieves who then commit various acts of fraud and identity theft. Employees who experience identity theft can suffer economic loss through fraudulent tax returns filed using their personal information, damage to their personal credit file through the origination of fraudulent lines of credit and loans, and more.
Cohen & Malad, LLP class action attorneys have filed lawsuits against businesses for failing to protect sensitive employee information. One lawsuit against All Connect involved the company’s release of W-2 tax forms of employees across three states to cyber thieves. Because of this action, hundreds of people are now at a high risk for identity theft, with some already suffering a financial loss.
If you or someone you know works at a company that released sensitive personally identifying employee information including W-2 tax forms to cyber thieves, contact us. Our class action attorneys have extensive experience in data breach lawsuits and can advise you of your legal rights and options.