Thousands of Idahoans Are About to Get a Chunk of Facebook’s Money

It seems like every other day, Idahoans are faced with a new sort of scam where bad actors are trying to sink their claws into victims' financial accounts. 

More often than not, scammers are targeting you with phishing campaigns that look like a legitimate email or text message from a well-known company. That’s why we’re proud of the thousands of Idahoans who admit being skeptical of an email they received from a “Facebook User Privacy Settlement Administrator” this week. 

I, like so many of you, received an email reading: 

Your Claim Form submitted in the In re: Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation is approved. The distribution of settlement benefits will commence in September, and payments will be sent in batches over the following 10 weeks. You will receive an additional email notice approximately 3-4 days before your settlement payment is issued. Please continue to check your email during this time period. 

 

For more information regarding your settlement payment please visit the settlement website: www.FacebookUserPrivacySettlement.com.

 

We thank you in advance for your patience.

Is This Email Real or Another Scam?

The email seemed super sketchy at first, but then a lightbulb clicked. More than two years ago, I told you that Facebook had agreed to a $725 million class-action settlement after they were caught sharing your private information with multiple third parties without asking permission to do so. 

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The lawsuit stemmed from a 2018 discovery that Cambridge Analytica paid a Facebook app developer to get access to personal information for nearly 87 million users, including thousands in Idaho. Cambridge Analytica then used that information for commercial purposes and political campaigns. Facebook also shared information about your friends on the platform and did not monitor how these third parties used that data. 

While Meta, never admitted wrongdoing, they settled out of court to the tune of $725 million. Users who had an active account between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022 were invited to fill out a claim form to receive cash from the settlement. 

If you got an email like the one I received, it likely means you forgot that you filled out the claim form before the August 25, 2023 deadline and your claim was accepted!

How Much Cash Will I Receive from Facebook?

It’s hard to say. According to SFGate, once Facebook pays the lead plaintiffs and attorneys' fees, they still have to distribute more than $540 million to users whose claims were approved. They estimate that the average payout would be $25-30. Payouts were determined by how many months a user’s account was active between 2007-2022. 

How Will I Receive My Facebook Payment?

Back when you filled out your claim form you were asked if you wanted to receive your payment via check or a digital payment platform. You were able to choose from Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or ACH. 

The email confirmation you received when you filed your claim will list the payment method you chose. It took me a while to search through the black hole that is my inbox to find that email. If you’re having a hard time finding yours, search for the subject line “Claim Submitted for Facebook User Privacy Settlement.”