Published
July 27, 2026
Updated
August 31, 2026
People notified that their information was involved in the Heritage South Credit Union data breach may qualify to claim up to $2,000 in documented losses plus up to $80 for lost time from the class action settlement, along with a year of credit monitoring. Claims are open through October 5, 2026.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to file a claim online or by mail (postmarked) is October 5, 2026. The deadline to exclude yourself from or object to the settlement is September 18, 2026. The Circuit Court for Talladega County, Alabama, has scheduled a final approval hearing for October 19, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Central Time; no final approval order had been entered as of July 27, 2026. Settlement payments will be distributed only if the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved, and no payment date had been announced as of July 27, 2026.
Status
Claims Open
Claim Deadline
October 5, 2026
Estimated Payout
Up to $2,000 + $80
Up to $2,000 documented losses + up to $80 lost time + 1 year of CyEx Financial Shield Total monitoring ($1M fraud insurance)
Proof Required
Yes
Login ID & PIN from your mailed or emailed notice to file online; receipts/bank statements needed for the documented-loss tier
What Is This Settlement About?
Heritage South Credit Union — a member-owned financial institution based in Sylacauga, Alabama — has reached a proposed class action settlement to resolve claims arising from a data incident on its computer systems in February 2025. According to the settlement notice, certain files were accessed during the incident, and those files may have contained personal information such as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, or financial account numbers.The lawsuit alleges that HSCU failed to adequately protect this information. HSCU denies the legal claims and denies any liability or wrongdoing, and the court has not found that HSCU did anything wrong or that any law was violated. The two sides agreed to settle to avoid the risk, cost, and time of continued litigation. If you received a notice about this settlement, you can file a claim for cash reimbursement and lost time and enroll in free credit monitoring.
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Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is defined as all living individuals residing in the United States who were identified by HSCU and sent notice that their private information may have been impacted in the February 2025 data incident. If you received a mailed or emailed settlement notice with a unique Login ID and PIN, you have been identified as a class member.Excluded from the class are HSCU and its officers, directors, and related companies; governmental entities; the judge assigned to the case, along with the judge's family and staff; and anyone who validly excludes themselves from the settlement.
How Much Can You Get?
The settlement offers three separate benefits, and you can claim more than one:Documented out-of-pocket losses — up to $2,000. If you incurred actual, documented losses because of the data incident between February 12, 2025 and October 5, 2026, you can be reimbursed up to $2,000. Covered expenses include losses from identity theft or fraud; fees for credit reports, credit monitoring, or freezing and unfreezing your credit; the cost to replace your IDs; and postage to contact banks by mail. You cannot claim expenses that were already reimbursed by a third party.
Lost time — up to $80. Class members who spent time responding to the data incident can claim up to four hours at $20 per hour, for a maximum of $80. Qualifying tasks include things like changing your passwords, investigating suspicious activity in your accounts, and researching the data incident.
Credit monitoring — one year. Every class member is eligible to enroll in one year of CyEx Financial Shield Total, which includes $1 million in financial fraud insurance and monitoring for fraud or identity theft, unauthorized financial transactions, and personal information tied to high-risk transactions. If something suspicious happens, you can work with a fraud resolution agent to help fix the problem.
The estimated figures above are the settlement's stated maximums; actual payments depend on your documentation and the settlement's terms.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
Filing the online claim requires the unique Login ID and PIN printed on your mailed or emailed settlement notice. Because the claim is gated on that administrator-issued identifier, this settlement is treated as proof-required — a person who never received a notice cannot simply file without it.If you claim documented losses, you must also submit supporting proof, such as bank statements or receipts, showing how much you spent or lost and that the expense was because of the data incident. You may include your own notes or papers to explain that proof, but those notes alone are not enough to make a valid claim. The lost-time and credit-monitoring benefits do not require receipts, but you still need your Login ID and PIN to file. If you believe you are a class member but cannot locate your Login ID and PIN, you can request them through the official settlement website rather than filing blind.
What Is the Deadline?
• Data Incident: February 2025
• Exclusion (Opt-Out) & Objection Deadline: September 18, 2026
• Claim Deadline (online or postmarked): October 5, 2026
• Final Approval Hearing: October 19, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Central Time
The documented-loss window runs from February 12, 2025 through October 5, 2026. Dates can change if the court adjusts the schedule, so check the official settlement website for the current deadlines before you file.
How Do You Take Action?
The fastest way to file is online at HSCUDataSettlement.com, using the Login ID and PIN from your settlement notice. You can also download a printable claim form from the settlement website and mail it to the settlement administrator, or submit a completed form by email. On the claim form you choose how you want to be paid — PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, a virtual prepaid card, or a physical check. The deadline to file is October 5, 2026. If you do nothing, you will not receive a payment or the monitoring, and you give up your right to sue HSCU on your own over this incident.What Happens Next?
The court will hold a final approval hearing on October 19, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Central Time to decide whether to approve the settlement, how much class counsel should be paid, and whether to award service payments to the class representatives. Class counsel has said it will ask the court to approve $175,000 in attorneys' fees and litigation costs, and service awards of $2,000 for each class representative, all of which HSCU has agreed to pay separately from class benefits. If the court grants final approval, there may be appeals; settlement payments would be distributed only after approval is final and any appeals are resolved. No payment date had been announced as of July 27, 2026.Related Data Breach Settlements
If you are tracking financial-sector and other open data breach settlements, several are accepting claims right now. The Bradford-Scott Data (Sharetec) data breach settlement covers a July 2023 incident at a credit union software vendor and pays an estimated $100 with no documentation or up to $5,000 in documented losses. The System Pavers data breach settlement uses the same CyEx Financial Shield monitoring and offers up to $3,000 in documented losses or an alternative cash payment, and the Vector Security data breach settlement has a similar up-to-$2,000 documented-loss and lost-time structure. You can also browse the full data breach settlements tracker to see which claim windows are still open, sorted by deadline.Sources
• Official Settlement Website — HSCUDataSettlement.com• Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement and Claim Form, In re: Heritage South Credit Union Data Breach Litigation, Case No. 61-CV-2025-900175 (Circuit Court for Talladega County, Alabama, Twenty-Ninth Judicial Circuit)
OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news site and is not the settlement administrator or a law firm.
Official Settlement Notice
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Case Title
In re: Heritage South Credit Union Data Breach Litigation
Case Number
61-CV-2025-900175
Court
Circuit Court for Talladega County, Alabama (29th Judicial Circuit)
Final Approval Hearing
October 19, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Central Time
Administrator
Simpluris
Official Website
HSCU Data Settlement.com
