If you received an email in the past day or so telling you that you are owed money resulting from a legal settlement with The Boston Globe, I’m here to tell you that it’s legit.
The email, from the “Ambrose v Boston Globe Settlement Administrator,” pertains to a $5 million settlement that the Globe reached last May for grabbing the identifying information of users who watch videos on its website and sending it to Facebook. Adam Gaffin of Universal Hub and I both wrote about it at the time (here and here), but I could barely remember it when I got my notice on Friday.
Subscribers are receiving anywhere from a week’s extension to, in my case, $158.03, which is also the amount reported by several other people I’ve been in contact with. I don’t know how they arrived at that exact figure, but I’ll take it.
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Jerry Ackerman
Same amount here. Earlier estimated sum was $20-$40 each. I’m guessing the number went up because relatively few people opted in, figuring it was either a scam or a waste of time. I opted for a check. We shall see what happens.
kd
Thank you! I was searching all around for confirmation regarding a possible scam. Also, when you click the link the only personal info you need to share is an email address (if using paypal) so low-stakes fraud threat.
Same amount as both of you.
MB
Never received an email and I’ve been a digital subscriber for 10+ years.
Brendan
You would have 100% received an email at the address you used to subscribe, as did all class members. That said, it likely went to your spam folder, as it did with me. Luckily, I found mine because of the UHub article.
Avery
It was for people with Facebook accounts, but I don’t know how they determined which subscribers have a Facebook account.
Brendan
When you got the email and clicked the link, you just had to confirm that you were subscribed during the period, and had a Facebook acct, and ever watched a video from the Globe during that time. So, how did they know who had Facebook accounts? They asked.
Btw, got my payment 10 minutes ago thru PayPal. 158.08
Maureen Milliken
I think you have had to access their video to be a member of the suit. It had to do with video access releasing personal information. BTW, I received notice that the money is now in my Venmo account, but it’s not and I don’t want to call because my sister was scammed by a fake PayPal support page last year. I’ll see what happens if I just wait.
Maureen Milliken
Update: I got my money, paid through Venmo. $158.03. Not sure if my other comment posted, but I believe it had to do with accessing Globe videos through Facebook and if you didn’t, you’re not in the class. There’s a long explanation online for anyone who is interested in knowing more.