data breach notices
West Virginia law requires businesses and organizations to notify consumers when a breach, exposing their personal information, occurs. Individuals, businesses and government agencies that own or license computerized data containing personal information of West Virginia Residents must comply with the law.
Once a data breach is discovered, notice must be given to the individuals impacted and to our office "without unreasonable delay." The West Virginia Attorney General enforces the data breach notification law and can investigate violations. Failure to comply may be considered an unfair or deceptive act under the West Virginia Consumer Credit Protection Act (WVCCPA).
If you are an authorized representative of a business or organization, submit your Data Breach Report here.
How to submit the Data Breach Report:
- The Data Breach Report should be completed ONLY by an authorized agent of the business or organization that experienced the breach. This will usually be the owner, manager, officer, attorney, or representative who can affirm that he or she is authorized to submit the report.
- If your business or organization experienced more than one breach, please submit a separate Data Breach Report for each.
- If your business or organization previously reported a breach and is providing supplemental or updated information, be sure that your new report reflects the TOTAL number of affected and notified consumers to date and that it includes ALL types of Personal Information identified as affected in the breach.
- Once your report is received, you will automatically receive a confirmation email to let you know that your report was successfully submitted, with a record number for your files.
- If necessary, The Consumer Protection Division will contact you with follow up questions.
If you are a consumer who has been notified of a data breach, please do not submit a data breach report here. If necessary, you may submit your information via a general consumer complaint form.
Class action fairness act (CAFA) notices
Notice of proposed settlements of federal class action lawsuits are required to be provided to the state Attorney General, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1715. You may submit your CAFA notices here.