Nebraska Joins $3.5M Settlement with Lenovo over Installation of Hacker-vulnerable Software on Laptop Computer

Attorney General Doug Peterson announced today that Nebraska has joined 31 other states in a settlement with technology company Lenovo (United States) Inc. to resolve allegations that the company violated state consumer protection laws by pre-installing software on laptop computers sold to Nebraska consumers that made consumers' personal information vulnerable to hackers. 

(Lincoln, NE)—Attorney General Doug Peterson reminds Nebraskans to donate wisely and avoid charities scams following Hurricane Harvey.

With today’s advances in technology, charitable giving is more prevalent than ever, especially in the wake of a natural disaster. Those same advances, though, pose unique challenges for well-intentioned donors.

“I know many Nebraskans want to generously reach out and help those affected by Hurricane Harvey, but before providing any information or contribution, they will want to make certain they are working with a reputable charitable organization that will make certain contributions go directly to those who need the most help,” stated Attorney General Doug Peterson.

Attorney General Doug Peterson announced today that his Office, along with the Attorneys General of 32 states and the District of Columbia, has reached a settlement with the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and its subsidiary, Allied Property & Casualty Insurance Company (collectively “Nationwide”), concerning an October 2012 data breach.  The data breach, which was alleged to have been caused by the failure to apply a critical security patch, resulted in the loss of personal information belonging to 1.27 million consumers, including their social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit scoring information, and other personal data.  The lost personal information was collected by Nationwide in order to provide insurance quotes to consumers applying for insurance.

Lincoln - The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office would like to alert Nebraska residents to a scam involving fraudulent automated calls posing as both the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Inspector General’s Office as well as the Internal Revenue Service. The caller states “your Social Security number has been flagged for fraud” and requests an immediate call back to (512) 937-2871. When this number is called you are advised the “Google subscriber is not available please leave a message”.

Scam artists based in Florida are posing as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska.

Bipartisan Coalition of Attorneys General – Led by NY and TX - Oppose Industry Petition Intended to Stop States from Enforcing False Advertising Laws on Internet Speeds

Lincoln, Nebraska – Attorney General Peterson is working with a bipartisan coalition of a majority of Attorneys General from across the country in an ongoing investigation to evaluate whether manufacturers have engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing and sale of opioids.  The Attorneys General are investigating what role the opioid manufacturers may have played in creating or prolonging this epidemic.  

Attorney General Doug Peterson today announced that Nebraska has joined with 46 other states and the District of Columbia in an $18.5 million settlement with the Target Corporation to resolve the states' investigation into the retail company's 2013 data breach.  Nebraska will receive $199,382.20 from the settlement. The settlement represents the largest multistate data breach settlement achieved to date.

The states' investigation, led by Connecticut and Illinois, found that, on or about November 12, 2013, cyber attackers accessed Target's gateway server through credentials stolen from a third-party vendor. The credentials were then used to exploit weaknesses in Target's system, which allowed the attackers to access a customer service database, install malware on the system, and capture data.  The data accessed included full names, telephone numbers, email and mailing addresses, payment card numbers, expiration dates, CVV1 codes, and encrypted debit PINs.

Attorney General Doug Peterson today announced that Nebraska has joined with 46 other states and the District of Columbia in an $18.5 million settlement with the Target Corporation to resolve the states' investigation into the retail company's 2013 data breach.  Nebraska will receive $199,382.20 from the settlement. The settlement represents the largest multistate data breach settlement achieved to date.

The states' investigation, led by Connecticut and Illinois, found that, on or about November 12, 2013, cyber attackers accessed Target's gateway server through credentials stolen from a third-party vendor. The credentials were then used to exploit weaknesses in Target's system, which allowed the attackers to access a customer service database, install malware on the system, and capture data.  The data accessed included full names, telephone numbers, email and mailing addresses, payment card numbers, expiration dates, CVV1 codes, and encrypted debit PINs.

Attorney General Doug Peterson today announced that Nebraska has joined with 46 other states and the District of Columbia in an $18.5 million settlement with the Target Corporation to resolve the states' investigation into the retail company's 2013 data breach.  Nebraska will receive $199,382.20 from the settlement. The settlement represents the largest multistate data breach settlement achieved to date.

The states' investigation, led by Connecticut and Illinois, found that, on or about November 12, 2013, cyber attackers accessed Target's gateway server through credentials stolen from a third-party vendor. The credentials were then used to exploit weaknesses in Target's system, which allowed the attackers to access a customer service database, install malware on the system, and capture data.  The data accessed included full names, telephone numbers, email and mailing addresses, payment card numbers, expiration dates, CVV1 codes, and encrypted debit PINs.

Attorney General Doug Peterson is urging Nebraska residents to file claims or make their views known on a $125 million multistate settlement that provides $35 million for distribution to consumers who paid for the brand-name drug Provigil or generic modafinil from June 24, 2006, to March 31, 2012.

Provigil, which includes the active ingredient modafinil, is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve wakefulness in adult patients with excessive sleepiness associated with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, and shift work disorder.

In August 2016, Nebraska and 47 other state attorneys general announced the settlement with biopharmaceutical company Cephalon and its affiliated companies, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and Barr Laboratories, that resolved allegations that the companies engaged in unlawful "pay-for-delay" anticompetitive conduct involving the patent exclusivity for Provigil.

The settlement included $35 million to compensate eligible consumers who may have been harmed by the alleged conduct. While the claims period has been advertised for several months, many consumers may not realize that the claims period will close. Originally, the deadline for consumers to file claims seeking to receive some of that $35 million or object to the settlement was Thursday, April 13, 2017.  The states sought and were granted an extension of the time to claim or object to June 25, 2017.

Lincoln – In recognition of National Consumer Protection Week - a campaign that encourages consumers nationwide to take full advantage of their consumer rights and make better-informed decisions – the Attorney General’s Office is focusing educational efforts on child identity theft.

Each year, millions of U.S. consumers become victims of identity theft. It is a growing crime in which thieves use stolen personal information, such as a Social Security number, to open credit accounts in someone else’s name. Unfortunately, criminals target children because of their clean Social Security numbers. Child identity theft is one of the worst forms of identity theft because it often goes unchecked and unnoticed for years.

A child’s Social Security number can be used by identity thieves to apply for government benefits, open bank and credit card accounts, apply for a loan or utility service, or rent a place to live. Why would ID thieves wish to assume a child’s identity? Because that child’s credit is a clean slate, which likely means available credit.