Walk It Through: The Data Breach Letter
A letter from a store about stolen card data, the timing of notice, and what a consumer can do next.
A shopper gets a letter saying a store's system was breached and card numbers taken.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A retail breach and its aftermath. Credit freezes, federal law and medical records breaches are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Treble damagesAn award of three times the actual damages, which the court may give in a consumer case.
- Unfair or deceptive act or practiceA dishonest or unfair practice in trade, for which a consumer recovers actual damages or $500, whichever is greater.
- Identity fraudMaking or using false identification, or another's identification or financial information, to defraud. A first conviction carries up to three years.
- LarcenyStealing property or money. Value of not more than $1,500 is punished by up to one year; above that, felonies by value.