Billion-Dollar Bank Accused of Secretly Sending Customers’ Personal and Financial Information to Facebook, Google and Microsoft

The eighth-largest bank in the US by total assets is accused of secretly collecting personal and financial information from its customers and sharing the data with tech giants.

A new class-action lawsuit alleges Capital One engaged in an “outrageous, illegal, and widespread practice of disclosing – without consent – the Nonpublic Personal Information and Personally Identifiable Financial Information” of its customers, sharing it with third parties including Facebook, Google and Microsoft.

“Capital One did so by knowingly and secretly configuring and implementing code-based tracking devices (“trackers” or “tracking technologies”) into its Website.”

The plaintiffs say Capital One has had tracking technologies installed on its website since “at least November 30, 2023, and at least as recently as June 24, 2024.”

As an illustration of the actions the bank is being accused of, the class action complaint says one of the lead plaintiffs, in an experience mirroring that of the three other lead plaintiffs, was served with Facebook ads of the product he had just signed up for on the Capital One website just moments after.

“Plaintiff Shah used Capital One’s Website to apply for a credit card.

Plaintiff Shah is a Facebook user, who joined Facebook within the last ten years.

Shortly after Plaintiff Shah used Defendant’s Website to apply for his Capital One Venture X card, advertisements from NerdWallet, advertising random credit cards, began appearing in his Facebook feed.

At approximately the same time, advertisements from Credit Karma advertising random credit cards began appearing in Plaintiff Shah’s Facebook feed.

Around the same time, other credit card providers advertising their own cards began appearing in Plaintiff Shah’s Facebook feed.”

The lawsuit says that the personal and financial information Capital One is allegedly collecting includes,

“…account information, credit card application information, and credit card pre-approval information, including the fact that a user was on a certain page, that users clicked buttons and what URLs or webpages they led to, information entered on preapproval application pages including their employment information, bank account information, and Customers’ eligibility, preapproval, or approval for a credit card.”

The plaintiffs accuse Capital One of violation of various consumer protection laws, invasion of privacy, unjust enrichment and breach of contract.

The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial as well as monetary and non-monetary reliefs.

Capital One boasts of $630.89 billion in total assets as of the second quarter of this year.

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