People affected by the January 2025 Steel Warehouse cyberattack can take a one-time $40 payment with no proof, or seek up to $5,000 for documented losses, if the claim is filed by December 1. A final approval hearing was set for October 21, and no outcome has been posted. The claim window is still open.
A fixed $40, and what the other route adds
The flat payment is a one-time $40.00 taken “instead of any other payment,” and the settlement notice says no proof or explanation is needed. It is the shortest path to money in this case. The settlement website lists December 1 as the claim deadline for online and mailed forms.
The other route reimburses up to $5,000 for documented out-of-pocket losses between January 23, 2025 and December 1, 2026. Covered costs include identity theft or fraud losses, credit report, monitoring or freeze fees, replacing IDs, and postage to contact banks. Expenses someone else already reimbursed cannot be claimed.
The notice also pays for lost time: up to three hours at $20 an hour, a $60 maximum, with a brief description of what the time went to. Because the $40 is offered in place of any other payment, a claimant who spent those hours calling banks has a reason to read the form before choosing the flat option.
The notice mentions no aggregate cap and no pro rata reduction, and the site states no total fund. The amounts appear as fixed figures. That removes one guess from the decision: the size of the check does not depend on how many others file.
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Who is covered and what the attackers reached
The class is all individuals whose personal identifying information may have been compromised, as shown on the class list. Steel Warehouse and its related companies, the judge and staff, anyone who carried out the attack, and anyone who validly opted out are excluded. The case is In re Steel Warehouse Data Incident Litigation, No. 71D04-2508-CE-000011, in the Indiana Commercial Court in St. Joseph County.
The notice describes a targeted cyberattack on the company’s computer systems in January 2025 in which certain files were accessed. The information that may have been in those files includes names, Social Security numbers, addresses, driver’s license numbers, government ID numbers such as passports, dates of birth and financial information such as credit or debit card numbers.
Social Security numbers in the mix make tax-return fraud a live risk. The IRS offers an Identity Protection PIN to anyone with a Social Security or taxpayer identification number who can verify their identity. A new PIN is generated each year, and the fastest way to get one is through an IRS online account.
Class members can also enroll in one year of CyEx Financial Shield Complete, which includes $1 million in financial fraud insurance. The notice does not say how many people are in the class, and the website does not give a count.
What the October 21 hearing means for the payout
The final approval hearing was set for October 21 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern in South Bend, Indiana, with a video option, and the notice warns the date may change. The settlement site does not report a ruling. Until the court approves the settlement, no checks go out.
The site says payments will be distributed if the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved. No payment date is posted. Filing by December 1 reserves a place; it does not set when the money arrives.
The deadline to opt out or object was October 2 and has passed. Everyone covered who did not opt out is bound by the settlement, so a claim form is the only way to be paid. Class counsel Lynn A. Toops and Amina A. Thomas of CohenMalad, LLP will ask for $182,500 in fees and costs, paid by Steel Warehouse.
Filing before December 1, 38 days from today
Claims can go in online, which the site calls the fastest way, or by mail on the printable form, postmarked no later than December 1. The administrator’s line is (833) 421-7360, and mailed forms go to P.O. Box 25226, Santa Ana, CA 92799. A paper form can also be requested by phone.
Out-of-pocket claims need proof such as bank statements or receipts. Self-made notes alone are not enough to make a valid claim. The $40 option needs none of that, which is why the real decision is between certainty and effort.
For someone who found a fraudulent charge or paid to replace a license, the documents decide whether $40 undersells the loss. For someone with no out-of-pocket cost, the flat payment is the whole claim. Either way the form is due December 1, and the open question is which line of it to fill in.
Will the Steel Warehouse claim be in before December 1?
The Steel Warehouse form asks for a choice, and the choice depends on paperwork. Someone who takes the flat $40 while holding receipts for a fraudulent charge or a replaced license may be leaving most of a $5,000 limit unclaimed.
The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes a step-by-step filing walkthrough and the four-date rule for reading a settlement notice, so the hearing, claim and payment dates each get read correctly. Its claim log and payment tracker keeps each receipt and filing date in one place.
Get the claim tracker for the Steel Warehouse December 1 deadline →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
