Your Data, Their Responsibility

Every time you sign up for an app, order online, or share information with a company, you trust that platform to protect your data. When they fail to do so it’s not just an inconvenience - it's also a violation of trust and can put you at risk.

How to Spot a Breach

Many people first learn about a breach when they get a carefully worded letter or email saying their Personal Identifying Information (PII) may have been exposed.” This communication often does not allude to the extent of a breach.

Here are other red flags to watch for when deciding how concerned you should be:

• Unfamiliar Charges on bank or credit card statements

• Alerts for logins you never made

• Password reset emails you didn’t request

Even if you don’t notice anything unusual, that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. Sometimes breaches are discovered months or even years after the fact.

💡Pro-tip: if you're unsure if you've been breached, or if a breach is legit, there are helpful online sources to review recently reported material breaches. One helpful resource is  https://haveibeenpwned.com/.

What’s at Risk

When companies mishandle your data, the fallout can go beyond stolen credit card information. The information exposed in a breach of consumer PII often includes:

• Full names and home Addresses

• Email addresses and passwords

• Bank account or credit card numbers

• Social Security numbers

• Medical records

When companies send the face-saving email alerting consumers they have been exposed to a data breach, they often "conveniently leave out" risks they may have exposed them to beyond stolen information. Leaked PII can circulate indefinitely, meaning further risk exposure never really goes away.

Your Rights After a Breach

For years, data breach damages were awarded to only those affected by a direct financial loss. No loss? No claim. The law is catching up to a bigger truth: your PII itself has value. Losing control of it can be a harm, even before suspicious charges show up or identity theft has occured.

With courts and regulators increasingly agreeing on the value of PII, merely being part of a breach means your data is now out there, which means you may be entitled to file a claim for damages based on this risk alone.

Here’s what that means for you:

• You don’t need to wait for fraud to happen. The exposure itself may give you grounds to take action.

• Accountability doesn’t require proof of theft. If a company failed to protect your data, you still have rights.

• The law recognizes prevention. Just because the fallout hasn’t hit yet doesn’t mean the breach didn’t harm you.

Why Accountability Matters

After a breach, companies often try to soothe the fallout with quick fixes: a free “Experian report,” a year of credit monitoring, or a politely worded letter. They’ll often bury the details in fine print and consider the matter closed. But the risk doesn’t disappear. It shifts from the company that failed to protect your data onto you.

This imbalance is exactly why accountability matters. If businesses profit from collecting and storing personal information, then they carry the responsibility to safeguard it. When they fall short, consumers shouldn’t be left absorbing the stress, risk, and potential fallout.

Increasing attention from legal and regulatory bodies make it clear: Companies can’t treat breaches as a cost of doing business. Accountability creates incentives for stronger security and ensures individuals aren’t the ones paying the price for corporate negligence.

Take Action

Knowledge is Power, but Action is Leverage. If your information was exposed, you may be eligible for compensation—even if you haven’t yet reached the point of harm for the breach.

👉 Curious if you qualify for a Data Breach Claim? Check your eligibility at app.chariotclaims.com.

We partner with top attorneys who specialize in each case. Chariot handles the legal heavy lifting and keeps you updated at every step.