WAWA, Penn.–The Wawa convenience store chain has agreed to to pay customers up to $9 million and spend $35 million upgrading its cybersecurity to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from a massive data breach in 2019 that exposed customers’ credit and debit card information for over nine months.
The settlement comes as First Choice FCU in Pennsylvania also has a lawsuit pending against Wawa over the breach related to the costs it incurred to replace cards and other expenses. First Choice filed its suit in early 2020 and is seeking class action.
Under the proposed settlement filed in federal court, the convenience store chain would provide customers with up to $8 million’ worth of Wawa gift cards and pay up to $1 million in cash payments. In addition, the plan calls for Wawa to pay an additional $3.2 million to cover administration costs, as well as pay attorney fees and expenses, among other costs.
The agreement must still be approved by a judge overseeing the case.
The data breach affected all Wawa stores, according to Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP, the law firm representing consumers in the case. The lawsuit alleged the breach may have compromised millions of payments cards.
What Consumers Will Get
According to Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce, under the plan, a third-party administrator will oversee the gift cards and payments. It will name the administrator once the plan is approved.
According to a statement announcing the settlement, consumers in the United States who used their payment cards at a Wawa store or fuel pump location between March 4, 2019, and Dec. 12, 2019, can get the gift cards or money. That’s how long the malware was running on Wawa’s computer systems before it was discovered.
Class members who did not suffer attempted or actual fraud on their payment cards could get a $5 Wawa gift card. Customers who can show that someone tried or succeeded in victimizing them could receive a $15 Wawa gift card, according to the statement.
Consumers who can provide “reasonable documentary proof” that they lost money because of an actual or attempted fraud could be reimbursed up to $500. Customers would need to submit a claim to receive a gift card or cash payment.
Wawa has more than 850 stores in six states and the District of Columbia and serves approximately 700 million customers annually.