The USAA will pay $3.25 million in a class action settlement after failing to prevent a 2021 data breach that exposed customers’ personal information. Affected individuals can file a claim through the USAA settlement website within the next four weeks.

USAA has already sent notifications by email or postal mail to eligible recipients, My San Antonio reported.

Details on filing a USAA claim

Many of these notifications were sent after USAA agreed to the settlement in December. Recipients should retain the letter, as it includes unique ID numbers and essential codes. The deadline to file a claim is April 7. Those who miss the deadline may forfeit their payments if the settlement administrator cannot locate them. To begin the process, go to usaadatasettlement.com.

More on the litigation

USAA was sued for using vehicle records to auto-populate driver’s license numbers and other information in insurance quotes. Customer Vincent Dolan filed the lawsuit after USAA informed him that a hacker accessed his information and used his name to open a membership in 2021. As the class-action representative, Dolan will receive the largest payout—$10,000.

USAA maintains its innocence despite agreeing to the settlement.

“USAA takes our responsibility of protecting personal information seriously, and our security measures are continuously strengthened to prevent unauthorized access and use. This event occurred in 2021 and was part of industry-wide targeting by cybercriminals,” a USAA spokesperson told MySA in December. “At that time, USAA contacted all affected consumers and provided complimentary identity theft detection and resolution services. This settlement is in the best interest of our membership and allows USAA to avoid lengthy and expensive litigation.”