Minnesota to get $280K from Experian data breach settlements

The state of Minnesota will get more than $280,000 under two multi-state settlements with Experian over its data breaches in 2012 and 2015.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office says T-Mobile also agreed to a settlement with the coalition of more than 40 attorneys general connected to the 2015 breach.

The settlements will pay the states over $16 million, with Minnesota set to receive $280,685.67. Additionally, Experian will provide five years of free credit monitoring and two annual free copies of credit reports to affected customers. Experian and T-Mobile are also improving their data-protection services.

The 2015 breach impacted more than 200,000 Minnesotans and allowed an unauthorized person to access sensitive information of customers who applied for T-Mobile postpaid services and device financing between 2013 and 2015.

The attorney general’s office says affected consumers can enroll in the extended credit monitoring services and find more information online.

“When we as consumers do business with many companies and service providers, we have little choice but to trust them when we share some of our most sensitive identifying information. When they break that trust, it can be devastating,” Attorney General Keith Ellison said. “It’s hard enough to afford your life without having your identity stolen, because we all know it can destroy your credit, affect your housing and employment opportunities, and damage your purchasing power for years to come. I’m glad Experian and T-Mobile have settled with us. These settlements provide important credit-monitoring support for affected consumers to catch any discrepancies the moment they happen, and better yet, with permanent fixes to prevent this from happening to anyone else.”