Thousands of Canadiansaffected by a data breachare being represented by a lawsuit against Dell Technologies.
According to the lawsuit filed in a Nova Scotia, the plaintiff is seeking damages for fraudulent emails and messages he received over a two-year period following a 2017 data breach that resulted in the exposure of information for more than 7,000 Dell customers.
The lawsuit was filed on October 1. Dell issued a statement Wednesday via email, saying it “places the highest priority on protecting our customers’ data.”
According to the lawsuit, which has not been certified as a class action, its representative suffered years of distress and anxiety as a result of the breach, which occurred at a call center in Indiathat provided customer support services to Dell.
It says Dell technical support collected and stored information about the plaintiff, including service history, warranty information, and personal information, after he requested help with computer .
He says he began receiving harassment from people claiming to be Dell employees in January 2018.
After taking steps to get Dell to address the problem satisfactorily, the man filed a complaint in February 2018 with the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
The OPC reported earlier this year that the man's complaint was substantiated. It also uncovered additional details about how the breach.
Meanwhile, according to the statement, the plaintiff “received five to 10 harassment calls a day, seven days a week, at all hours (from January 2018 to early 2020).
Even after changing his phone number, the lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff began receiving numerous emails the day he was asked to call a number to resolve a problem with his computer. His lawyers are asking the court to recognize him as a representative for other Canadian Dell customers who were also affected by the 2017 breach.
