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I got the following email:

CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE BY ORDER OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA

Douglas v. DHI Group, Inc. et al.; Case No. 18-cv-331732

You are receiving this Notice because you have been identified as a Class Member who will be entitled to a settlement payment if a settlement is finally approved unless you timely exclude yourself. To file a Claim Form, click here.

The parties estimate you will receive up to $500 if you file a claim. However, the final amount you will receive depends on the number of claims filed. Based on prior claims rates in other settlements, the parties anticipate that payouts will be between $50-$200.

This proposed settlement covers people about whom DHI Group, Inc. and Dice Inc. (together, “Dice”) created an Open Web profile since July 26, 2012, and with whom a third party sought to communicate using Dice’s software, as well as those people who requested a copy of their Open Web profile from Dice.

A state court authorized this Notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer. Read this notice carefully, as it affects your rights.

For more information, visit www.DiceFCRASettlement.com or call 1-855-598-4037.

WHAT IS THIS CASE ABOUT? The individual who brought the lawsuit (called the Plaintiff) claims that DHI Group, Inc. and Dice Inc. (together, “Dice”) violated a statute applicable to consumer reporting agencies called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). Specifically, he alleges that Dice was a “consumer reporting agency” preparing “consumer reports” under the FCRA when it gathered information from various online sources regarding job seekers and then compiled that information into “candidate profiles” for sale to potential employers and recruiters, and that Dice violated the FCRA in several other ways by not treating the profiles as “consumer reports.”

Dice denies that it is a “consumer reporting agency” under the FCRA and that candidate profiles are “consumer reports.” Dice maintains that it did not do anything wrong and that the FCRA does not apply to Dice or its activities.

WHO IS INCLUDED? If your name is located on the top of this Notice, you are a Class Member and are part of the Settlement, unless you timely exclude yourself from it.

The precise definition of a Class Member can be found in the Long Form Notice.

WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE? The parties estimate you will receive up to $500 if you file a claim. However, the final amount will depend on the number of claims filed, and could be substantially less than $500. Based on prior claims rates in other settlements, the parties anticipate that payouts will be between $50-$200.

This amount comes from a payment of $1 million by Dice to a fund from which payments to Class Members, attorneys’ fees to Class Counsel, the costs of the Settlement Administrator, and a service payment to the Class Representative will be made. The final amount will depend on the number of claims filed.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to award them attorneys’ fees in an amount no greater than one-third of the Settlement Amount ($333,333) plus reasonable out-of-pocket expenses. The Court may award the Plaintiff in this case a service award totaling up to $5,000 for the time and effort he has put into this case on behalf of the Settlement Class.

You will only receive a benefit if you file a Claim Form online by June 24, 2019, or if mailed, postmarked no later than June 24, 2019. The Settlement also provides that Dice will implement certain business practice changes. For more information, visit www.DiceFCRASettlement.com.

HOW DO I FILE A CLAIM? There are two ways to file a Claim Form: (1) File online, at www.DiceFCRASettlement.com; or (2) Print a Claim Form, available at www.DiceFCRASettlement.com, fill it out, and mail it (with postage) to the address listed on the Claim Form. Printed Claim Forms that do not contain a valid Notice ID (shown at the top of this email) will not be processed. Claim Forms must be filed online or postmarked by June 24, 2019.

YOUR OTHER OPTIONS. If you don’t want to receive a cash payment or other settlement benefits and don’t want to be bound by the Settlement and any judgment in this case, you must send a written request to exclude yourself. You must either send your exclusion by mail or submit a letter via the Settlement Website at www.DiceFCRASettlement.com, saying that you want to be excluded. Exclusions must be submitted or postmarked no later than May 27, 2019. If you exclude yourself, you will not receive benefits from the Settlement. If you don’t exclude yourself, you will give up the right to sue Dice about any of the issues related to this case. Please see the Long Form Notice for additional details.

If you don’t exclude yourself, you may object to the Settlement or to the request for fees and costs by Class Counsel.

The Long Form Notice, available at www.DiceFCRASettlement.com, further explains how to exclude yourself or object.

The Court will hold a hearing in this case on August 2, 2019 at 9:00 a.m., to consider whether to approve: (1) the Settlement; (2) attorneys’ fees and costs for Class Counsel; and (3) a service award of $5,000 for the Class Representative in this case. You may appear at the hearing, but you don’t have to. The Court has appointed attorneys (called “Class Counsel”) to represent the Class Members. These attorneys are listed in the Long Form Notice. You may hire your own attorney to appear for you, but if you do so, it will be at your own expense.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION? For more information, visit www.DiceFCRASettlement.com or call 1-855-598-4037.

Please keep this Notice for your records. You may need the Notice ID and Confirmation Code located on the top of this email in the future. Please include your Notice ID on all correspondence with the Settlement Administrator.

I am not sure if this is spam or not.

PS. Posted related question: Class Action - which options I have?

UPDATE: Got settlement check $340

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  • 6
    Did you create and/or use an account on dice.com since 2012? Mar 27, 2019 at 2:31
  • 3
    @WesleyMarshall, I remember I had account there several years ago.
    – Alexan
    Mar 27, 2019 at 3:13
  • 12
    Did you mean Scam or Spam?
    – Lawrence
    Mar 27, 2019 at 4:48
  • 1
    Good question, because scam/spam like this exists.
    – user71981
    Mar 27, 2019 at 16:06
  • 2
    Worth mentioning here. Never click links in an email. Even if you know who sent it, don't ever trust a link. Anyone attempting to verify those links should tread carefully as there is no way to know even whether the displayed URL matches the actual URL shown when you mouse over it. Even then, the email could have some code embedded somewhere that changes it to a different site when you click it (trust me I've seen this done with my own eyes). So please keep that in mind when verifying the links. This may or may not be a legit case, but the email could still be an impersonator.
    – user64742
    Mar 28, 2019 at 1:56

2 Answers 2

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It's legit... this is DHI Group's 10-K from 2/7/2019. Search for the case#: 331732

and I'm a member of the class as well ;)

Edited to show my process: i received an e-mail from [email protected] with the Case Number. I googled said case number (Douglas v. DHI Group, Inc. et al.; Case No. 18-cv-331732) I then googled the case number which yielded a valid result against "DHI Group" then i went o ensure that DHI Group was a valid business by looking for their 10-K, a reporting document for the SEC.

once i ascertained that they were a valid organization and the case was valid, i then submitted my personal information to the website to claim my settlement check.

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  • 47
    Perhaps add something about how this was identified so this answer could be more broadly applied. Mar 27, 2019 at 8:55
  • 1
    @PeterMortensen Use google.
    – user64742
    Mar 28, 2019 at 1:40
  • 4
    So, how can one be sure that www.DiceFCRASettlement.com is not a legit-looking scammer site harvesting personal data?
    – artem
    Mar 28, 2019 at 1:40
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    @artem How can you be certain that someone doesn't impersonate a lawyer involved in such a settlement to scam you? You honestly cannot without visiting the site, and you cannot visit the site without risks of viruses and malware. Perhaps it's best to not be concerned with the site being a scam and instead just find the contact information for the agency through other means (search engine) and contact them that way with forms they'll likely have on their site. Never click links in an email unless you request it. Even if your bank reports a breach and its legit go to the site to change password.
    – user64742
    Mar 28, 2019 at 1:43
  • The point is, there's no point in visiting the site to confirm if it's legit or not, you have to check other sources. If you want to confirm that someone is a lawyer and not an impersonator, you request references from other lawyers or look at court records. If you don't have lawyers that you trust - tough luck.
    – artem
    Mar 28, 2019 at 1:45
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This seems to be the case as listed by Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara.

I don't see anything there which specifies that particular website as the avenue for filing a claim but all of the other details seem to check out.

edit: to check this, I noted that the email said that there would be a hearing on 2nd August 2019. I went to the court's website and looked at the "Courtrooom Calendars" link. After selecting the correct date and type of case, I found the page for the case which I linked to above

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