Montrealers launch class-action lawsuit against Equifax over handling of personal information

The credit consumer reporting agency Equifax is facing a class-action suit by Montrealers who allege the company failed to protect their data and opened the door to identity theft.

Solomon Abudarham recently found out that someone got ahold of his credit dossier using fake information, setting him up for possible identity theft.

“But I don’t know who that party is. They don’t know who that party is. It could be a robot … I have no idea,” said Abudarham , the plaintiff.

Abudarham thought his data was secure with Equifax, the world’s largest credit reporting agency. By checking his dossier, he discovered his data was accessed by a marketing company with links to Equifax.

That marketing company sells data to business partners. These platforms rarely go through complex identity verification.

“You know their name, you know their date of birth. You could probably go to one of these platforms and get that information,” Abudarham said.

Abudarham immediately connected the dots. He contacted Equifax, asking why the company would allow business clients to access consumer data so easily.

“And pretty well, they confirm that my identity was given to somebody else and they take no responsibility,” he said.

Abudarham contacted a lawyer, who believes Equifax was at fault. Amal Sebti says the company should have known there was a security flaw in their system.

She has now filed a class-action lawsuit seeking damages for everyone whose credit data was exposed.

Sebti alleges the company failed in its obligation to protect consumers.

The class-action suit needs to be authorized by a tribunal before it can proceed, and the allegations have not been tested in court. Although the plaintiff is based in Montreal, the suit could have an impact across the country.

When reached for comment, Equifax told CTV News it denies the accusations and said in a statement: “We will vigorously defend these claims through the appropriate legal channels. Equifax plays an important role in the financial lives of consumers and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

But for Abudarham, his findings prove that despite years of efforts, securing private data remains an uphill battle for most Canadians.