A lawsuit was filed against ParkMobile, the company behind the mobile parking app, and it has finally settled. If you're one of the 21 million ParkMobile users affected by an alleged data breach, you may be entitled to a portion of the $32.8 million proposed settlement.
The app experienced a data breach in 2021 that ended up exposing the data of 21 million app users. A class action lawsuit was filed in Georgia two months after the company announced the breach. The lawsuit accused ParkMobile of knowingly operating a business with a "deficient security system" and failing to protect customer data.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs asserted that they experienced "abnormal activity" on linked PayPal accounts and, in some cases, alterations to information on unrelated apps like Netflix.
As with most class action lawsuits, ParkMobile isn't admitting to any wrongdoing, but instead, it is more likely that lawyers for the company and plaintiffs agreed to settle to avoid a lengthy trial.
The lawsuit claims that compromised information included passwords, dates of birth, license plate numbers and mailing addresses. At the time of the breach, ParkMobile operated in 32 states and over 550 cities.
What is ParkMobile?
ParkMobile is a phone app that enables you to pay for parking digitally. It was launched in 2009 and today offers parking reservations and a business side for managing parking locations. It has been integrated with Google Maps.
The data breach was announced by the company in March of 2021.
"We recently became aware of a cybersecurity incident linked to a vulnerability in a third-party software that we use. In response, we immediately launched an investigation with the assistance of a leading cybersecurity firm to address the incident. Out of an abundance of caution, we have also notified the appropriate law enforcement authorities.."
Later updates stated that sensitive information had not been leaked and that encrypted passwords were accessed but not the encryption keys to read them.
The incident announcement page now links to the settlement page.
How to tell if you qualify
Since settling the lawsuit this month, a website has been set up for claimants to submit a claim and get questions about the settlement answered.
Most affected people will have received an email or physical mail notifying them they are eligible for payment. That notice will include a notice ID and confirmation code.
However, if you were not contacted or lost your ID, you can use the settlement website to contact the settlement administrator or look up your login.
There is a time limit on this. Online claims will be closed at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on March 5, 2025, while Mailed forms must be postmarked before March 5, 2025.
How much and when will you receive payment?
While the lawsuit settled for $32.8 million, only $9 million is earmarked for cash payments, which are capped at $25 per class member.
If you opt against a cash payment, ParkMobile will give you a $1 credit code that can be used in the app after the claims period ends. You'll only have a year to enter and use the code in the app. The payout has been capped at $21 million, or enough for each affected person to receive the credit.
According to the settlement website, payment can be made a few months before payment. Final approval is set for March 13, 2025, though there may be appeals that could extend that date.
“It also takes time for all the Claim Forms to be processed, depending on the number of claims submitted and whether any appeals are filed,” the site reads.
If you don't want to wait or aren't interested in the credit or cash, you can submit a letter by February 3, 2025, requesting to be excluded from the settlement.
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