$600,000 Secured by AG Labrador for Idaho in Two Consumer Data Settlements

BOISE, ID - Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced today that Idaho will recover more than $616,000 from two separate multistate settlements holding companies accountable for failing to protect consumers' money and personal information. The settlements resolve claims against Block, Inc., the company behind the Cash App payment platform, and against the bankruptcy estate of genetic testing company 23andMe.

"Idaho families trusted these companies with their money and their most personal information, and both companies failed them," said Attorney General Labrador. "Block let fraudsters exploit Cash App users while chasing growth, and 23andMe ignored basic security until hackers exposed Idahoans' genetic data. These settlements return more than $600,000 to Idaho and force real changes to protect consumers. My office will keep holding companies accountable when they put profits ahead of the people who trust them."

Block Inc:

In the Block settlement, Idaho joined a coalition of 46 states in a $45 million agreement resolving allegations that the company misled Cash App users about the safety of the platform and failed to provide the fraud protection it promised and was required by law to deliver. Idaho will receive $416,856. Block marketed Cash App as a safe alternative to a bank account, particularly to unbanked and underbanked Idahoans who often relied on it as their primary financial account, while fraud on the platform climbed. The company's sign-up process required minimal identity verification, it ran a promotion encouraging users to publicly post their account identifiers that scammers exploited for years, and it offered no phone support for years, leaving users vulnerable to scammers posing as Cash App representatives. Under the settlement, Block must maintain live customer support, stop misleading claims about Cash App's safety, end marketing practices known to increase fraud, and fulfill its legal obligation to investigate and reimburse unauthorized transactions. The agreement also reaffirms Block's separate commitment to distribute between $75 million and $120 million directly to consumers nationwide under its settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

23andMe:

In the 23andMe settlement, Attorney General Labrador joined a coalition of 42 states in resolving bankruptcy claims tied to a 2023 data breach that exposed the genetic data of 6.9 million customers worldwide, including 38,537 Idahoans. Idaho will receive just over $200,000 from the $18 million allotted to states out of the bankruptcy estate. The multistate investigation found 23andMe failed to guard against credential stuffing attacks, failed to require multifactor authentication, failed to detect a massive spike in login attempts, and failed to fix known vulnerabilities before hackers accessed and sold customers' genetic ancestry data on the dark web. When the bankruptcy filing raised concerns about the sale of that data, Attorney General Labrador issued a consumer alertadvising Idahoans how to withdraw consent for their genetic information to be stored or sold.

Idahoans with consumer complaints or concerns about fraud are encouraged to visit ReportScamsIdaho.com.