Canadians could be part of a class-action lawsuit filed against Wealthsimple

An app screenshot for Wealthsimple is seen on a smartphone in a photo illustration made in Toronto, Monday, June 17, 2024.

Canadians who use the online investment management app Wealthsimple could be part of a class action against the company.

Law firm Slater Vecchio LLP has taken the first step with a class-action lawsuit proposal against Wealthsimple, in light of a recent data breach which took place Aug. 30 and was publicly disclosed by the company in early September.

“That sensitive information – including names, addresses, Social Insurance Numbers, account numbers, government-issued IP addresses – was accessed and stolen," the law firm claimed in a filing

Justin Giovannetti, an associate lawyer with Slater Vecchio, tells CTVNews.ca that at this stage, it’s critical for people who’ve been impacted by the breach to come forward and share with the firm what happened to them.

“We want to learn about the potential effects of this data breach,” he said. “Going forward, there is potential harm to these people.”

The proposed class-action lawsuit says it will represent people across Canada whose information was obtained in the breach, with a subclass for Canadians who’ve suffered direct harm, such as financial losses, identity theft or fraud, linked to the misuse of their compromised data.

According to a statement on their website, Wealthsimple has offered people impacting by the breach credit monitoring for two years.

Giovannetti says that Wealthsimple has instructed those impacted by the breach to enroll in credit monitoring through Equifax, and that they have until Nov. 30 to sign up.

The firm says that’s insufficient, since it’s for a limited time.

“If I’m a fraudster, I’m going to go into my calendar and set a reminder for two years from now,” he said. “People who don’t have the opportunity to access these services between now and Nov. 30, it appears from Wealtsimple’s notice that they will not be free after that time.”

Those impacted by the breach can send their details and contact information through the firm’s website.

Giovannetti added that the class-action lawsuit will move on to a certification hearing for approval or dismissal, which could take a number of years.

In an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca, Wealthsimple said they believe the claims in the lawsuit are without merit and they will defend themselves vigorously.

“Immediately upon discovering the data security incident, we acted quickly to stop it,” the statement read. “We notified all impacted customers and offered complimentary credit and dark web monitoring as well as identity theft protection and insurance. We take the privacy of our clients very seriously and remain focused on supporting them.”