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Check Your Eligibility

Real class action notices look like scams

A national survey of 500 U.S. adults reveals that some features commonly found in legitimate class action settlement notices are also the ones people distrust most. That instinct is keeping eligible people from claiming money they are owed.
Survey conducted by Pollfish among 500 U.S. adults ages 18–64 on behalf of Class Action U, in partnership with Milberg PLLC.

Before you read on, would you trust this email?

Select anything in the notice that makes you suspicious, then see how your instincts compare with those of other survey respondents.

An email from an unknown address Common in real notices

59% of respondents flagged this. Settlements are typically run by third-party claims administrators, so the sender is rarely a name you already know.

A request for personal information Common in real notices

59% of respondents flagged this. Administrators need to confirm who you are and where to send payment. A safe habit: go to the official settlement website directly rather than replying to the email, and be cautious with bank details.

A company too well-known to be sued Not a warning sign

16% of respondents flagged this, rising to 27% of 18–29 year olds. Large, familiar companies are frequent class action defendants.

78%
flag at least one routine feature of a real notice as a red flag
50%
of people who skipped a class action they qualified for thought it was a scam
85%
would be more likely to take part if an attorney explained the process
77%
would trust a lawyer to explain a notice, more than any other source
You get an email saying you might be owed money from a class action lawsuit. It asks you to confirm your name and address, but you don't recognize the sender. Your first instinct is to delete it.
Sometimes, though, the notice is legitimate. And according to our survey, that protective instinct could be keeping eligible people from claiming money they're legally entitled to receive.

Suspicion is the top reason people walk away

Just over a quarter of respondents (27%, or 134 people) said they had skipped a class action they were eligible for. The leading reason wasn't a lack of interest or the size of the potential payout. Half of those respondents believed the notice was a scam.

Why people skipped a class action they qualified for

Among respondents who skipped a class action (n=134). Respondents could select more than one reason.
But what triggers that suspicion? The two most commonly flagged features were requests for personal information and emails from unfamiliar senders, both of which can appear in legitimate settlement notices. Across the full sample, 78% identified at least one routine feature as a red flag, while 39% flagged both. Only 14% said nothing about the notices seemed illegitimate.

What makes a class action notice seem illegitimate?

All respondents (n=500). Purple indicates features commonly found in legitimate notices.

Scam suspicion is consistent across demographic groups

While many attitudes in the survey varied by education, income, and age, scam suspicion remained relatively consistent. Among respondents who skipped a class action, roughly half cited concerns that the notice was a scam, regardless of demographic group.

"Thought it was a scam," by group

Share of respondents who skipped a class action and cited scam suspicion. The dashed line represents the overall 50%.
Subgroup bases are small; differences within each pair are not statistically meaningful, which is the point.
"Out of the blue notification that I'm in the class when I am not."Male, 37, bachelor's degree
"Didn't hear about the problems anywhere before the lawsuit is mentioned."Female, 35, high school graduate

An attorney's explanation could help build trust

People don't necessarily distrust class actions themselves. Instead, they may be skeptical of the notices they receive. When asked who they'd trust to explain a class action notice, respondents chose lawyers by a wide margin.

Who people would trust to explain a class action notice

All respondents (n=500). Multiple selections allowed.
That trust remained consistent across age groups. Although younger adults were more likely to trust social media as an additional source of information, they were just as likely as older respondents to trust lawyers. For them, social media supplements rather than replaces attorneys.

Trust a lawyer to explain, by age

No generational gap.
Overall, 85% of respondents said an attorney's explanation of the process would make them more likely to participate. Notably, this included people who had previously skipped a class action and those who questioned whether class actions were effective.

More likely to participate if an attorney explained the process

By segment.
Only 3.2% of respondents (n=16) said they would disregard a notice and that an attorney's explanation wouldn't change their likelihood of participating.

Concerns about attorney fees still remain

Despite the high level of trust in attorneys, some respondents raised concerns about how much money lawyers receive from class action settlements. Although attorney fees weren't included as a specific answer choice, four of the 18 free-text responses about opting out and suspicion raised this concern.
These responses suggest that explaining how attorney fees work could help address an important source of skepticism.
"Most of the money goes to the law firms presenting the case."Male, 60, master's degree
"Someone is making money off it. Most of it."Male, 40, some college

Most people research first. Few sign up on the spot.

When presented with a class action notice, 77% of respondents said they would research it before taking action, while 16% would sign up immediately and 7% would disregard it. This preference for researching first was consistent across demographic groups. Notably, 68% of all respondents said they would both research a notice before acting and be more likely to participate if an attorney explained the process.
However, among people who have never participated in a class action, waiting to be notified is more common than actively searching for information.

Where people who have never been in a class action get information

Asked only of respondents never involved in a class action (n=312).
This tendency varied across demographic groups. Women were 13 percentage points more likely than men to wait for a notice, while men were 22 percentage points more likely to search on Google. Respondents outside the workforce, including retirees, homemakers, and people with disabilities, were the most likely to wait to be notified (56%).

Prior class action experience shapes consumer attitudes Robust*

38% of respondents have been part of a class action before. Prior involvement was more strongly associated with differences in responses than any demographic factor examined in the survey. After accounting for income, education, age, gender, and region, respondents with prior class action experience were 4.5 times as likely to say they would continue using a company that had been sued.

Been in a class action vs. never involved

● Been involved (n=188)    ● Never involved (n=312)
Compared with those who had never participated in a class action, experienced respondents were more willing to continue using the company, more likely to trust online research, and more motivated by financial compensation.
* Robust findings met a stricter statistical threshold. See About this survey for what this means.

Small settlements don't necessarily undermine trust in class actions

Among respondents who had previously participated in a class action, 71% received less than $50. Yet 72% of those who received smaller payouts still considered class actions an effective way to hold companies accountable, compared with 82% of respondents who received $50 or more. Smaller payouts were also associated with differences in brand loyalty and subsequent participation.

What happened after a prior class action

Respondents who never heard back about their claims reported the least favorable outcomes. However, this group was very small (n=8), so the findings should be interpreted cautiously. Their responses suggest that a lack of follow-up may be more damaging to trust than receiving a small payout.
"It resulted in a voucher for a very small sum of money that would cost more to have a tax preparer file than to accept."Male, 62, some college

It's fine until it's personal

We asked the same 500 respondents two versions of a question about brand loyalty. While 52% said they would continue using a company that had been the subject of a class action, only 39% said they would do so if they were personally involved in the lawsuit. This 13-percentage-point drop highlights how personal involvement can influence consumer attitudes.

The 260 respondents who said they would still use the company

Each square represents approximately 1% of this group. Purple squares changed their answer to no when the question became "if I was personally involved in the class action."
71%still said yes if I was personally involved in the class action
29%changed to no if I was personally involved in the class action
Only 4% of those who said no in the general case flipped the other way.

How education influences willingness to keep using a brand Robust*

Education showed one of the strongest differences in consumers' willingness to continue using a company involved in a class action. The likelihood of continuing to use the company increased with education level. Even after accounting for income, age, gender, region, and prior class action experience, respondents with a college degree were about twice as likely to say they would keep using the company.

Would keep using a company that was sued, by education

Consumers who were less willing to continue using a company involved in a class action were also less likely to have participated in one. Among respondents earning under $25,000, only 26% had previously participated in a class action, compared with 45% of those earning $50,000–$99,000. They were also less likely to know what a class action was (74% vs. 91%). Regional differences emerged as well: 69% of respondents in the South said they wouldn't continue using the company, compared with 46% in the West.

* Robust findings met a stricter statistical threshold. See About this survey for what this means.

Explore the data by group

Choose a group and a measure to see how responses vary.

Harm moves people more than money

63% of respondents said harmful or damaging misconduct would make them more likely to participate in a class action, compared with 47% who cited a larger potential payout. While some were motivated by either harm or money, others considered both important factors.

What motivates people to join

All respondents (n=500).
Interestingly, higher-income respondents were more likely to cite financial compensation as a motivation, with 58% of those earning $100,000 or more doing so, compared with 37% of those earning under $25,000. Higher-income respondents also reported greater motivation related to both financial compensation and harmful misconduct, alongside higher rates of previous class action participation.
Beyond participating in lawsuits, respondents expressed a willingness to hold companies accountable through other actions. Only 17% said they would take no additional action against a company that harmed them.

What else people would do to hold a company accountable

All respondents (n=500). Multiple selections allowed.
Anger also emerged in the open-ended responses. When asked how they felt upon learning they had been affected, five of the six respondents who provided written answers expressed some form of anger. Although the survey included options such as concern, curiosity, and indifference, anger was the most common sentiment in these written responses.

How to build trust in class action settlement notices

When legitimate settlement notices resemble potential scams, eligible people may dismiss them and miss out on compensation. The survey findings suggest that building trust through clearer communication and easier verification could encourage more people to participate.
1

Involve attorneys early in the process

85% of respondents said an attorney's explanation would make them more likely to participate, including many who had previously skipped a class action.
2

Explain why personal information is requested

Requests for personal information and emails from unfamiliar senders were the most commonly cited red flags. Clearly explain why personal details are needed and how they'll be used.
3

Be transparent about attorney fees

Some respondents raised concerns about how much lawyers receive from settlements. Explaining how fees work could help address these concerns.
4

Make official sources easy to verify

Make it easy for recipients to independently confirm the legitimacy of a notice, including the identities of settlement administrators and legal representatives.
5

Reach people who rely on notifications

Among respondents who had never participated in a class action, 41% relied on notifications as a source of information. Clear communication and timely updates throughout the claims process can help keep these individuals informed.

About this survey

Sample
500 U.S. adults, ages 18–64
Fielded by
Pollfish, on behalf of Class Action U in partnership with Milberg PLLC
Margin of error
±4.4 percentage points at 95% confidence (full sample)
The results are presented without weighting to maintain consistency with subgroup sample sizes. Weighted and unweighted results differed by less than 1.5 percentage points across all questions.
We tested 616 subgroup comparisons. 158 were significant at p<.05, of which 48 survive Benjamini-Hochberg correction for multiple comparisons. Findings labeled Robust met this stricter threshold, while other subgroup differences should be interpreted with greater caution.
Questions about where people get information were asked only of the 312 respondents who had never been in a class action. Several groups have small bases and should be treated as directional: Asian respondents (n=28), people who never heard back after a settlement (n=8), people who would disregard a notice (n=33), ages 60–64 (n=57), postgraduates (n=63), and people who think class actions are not effective (n=57).
The sample included a higher proportion of women (60%) and lower-income respondents. Because participants were between 18 and 64 years old, the findings should not be generalized to adults aged 65 and older.