Settle data breach lawsuit for approximately $11.9 million by Evolve
In the summer of 2024, Evolve Bank & Trust faced a significant data breach due to a ransomware attack by the hacker group LockBit. The breach exposed sensitive personal and financial information of the bank's retail customers, employees, and partners, including Wise and Affirm.
The data compromised included names, addresses, dates of birth, contact details, Social Security numbers, and bank account numbers. Evolve Bank & Trust, however, managed to prevent significant data loss by utilizing backups.
Following the breach, Evolve Bank & Trust notified its customers on June 26, 2024, and worked with its fintech partners to investigate the incident and notify affected parties. The bank has also been supporting customers through service updates and compliance changes in the payments landscape. For instance, Evolve has adopted the ISO 20022 data standard to improve security and transaction clarity.
The breach has caused concern among customers, with some experiencing transactional disputes possibly related to disruptions or aftermath issues following the breach. The middleware firm responsible for connecting fintechs to Evolve Bank & Trust, Synapse, filed for bankruptcy, adding to the complexity of the situation.
Approximately $85 million in funds belonging to about 100,000 customers could not be traced due to irregularities in ledgers. A proposed class action lawsuit involving more than 18 million people has been filed against Evolve Bank & Trust and other banks, with each individual claimant able to request up to $3,000.
An organized effort by customers, the "Fight for Our Funds" group, is seeking to get their funds back. Leticia Barros, a customer of Yotta, received only $2.78 of the nearly $27,000 she'd saved, despite efforts to reconcile with Evolve Bank & Trust. Some customers have reportedly received 100% of their funds back, but the circumstances surrounding this are unclear.
The active discussion about these issues can be found on the r/yotta page on Reddit. Evolve Bank & Trust has strengthened its security response protocols, policies, and procedures following the data breach. The settlement agreement comes amid ongoing issues where thousands of customers of fintechs Yotta, Juno, and Copper, which used Evolve as a partner bank, have been unable to access millions of dollars in funds since last spring.
- In an attempt to enhance security and regain customer trust after the data breach, Evolve Bank & Trust has adopted the ISO 20022 data standard in their business interactions, aiming to improve transaction clarity and security within their financial technology partnerships.
- Amidst the complexities arising from the data breach, the proposed class action lawsuit seeks compensation for the affected individuals, with each claimant requesting up to $3,000 from Evolve Bank & Trust and other involved parties, in relation to their lost funds.
