[burgerbrain]

Are damages of more than a few thousand that uncommon as a consequence of identity theft? I suspect not, and if any damages result from a security breach of their service, I believe identity theft is the most likely cause.

[ansy]

According to this article from 2006[1] the average out of pocket loss (to the consumer) from identity theft was around $400 and is often nothing.

While the fraud committed from identity theft is generally in the several thousands of dollars, this is almost entirely absorbed by businesses. In the United States the consumer liability for credit card theft is federally capped at $50 [2]. Most credit card companies just go ahead and make it $0 to sound good in advertisements. As a side note, it is criminally foolish to ever use a debit card in place of a credit card because the liability limits are higher and more strict to enforce [3].

So yes, even for most victims of identity theft, small claims would more than cover their potential damages. Not to mention the legal fees to prepare the case would dwarf all but the most disastrous losses. Most people would be far better to take Sony to small claims court for the $150 filing fee and get the maximum $4000 or whatever and be done with it.

[1] http://www.bbbonline.org/idtheft/safetyquiz.asp

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card_fraud#Cardholder_li...

[3] http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre04.shtm

[burgerbrain]

Out of pocket loss does not equate to total damages. Time lost and effort spent trying to clean it all up is significant.