Hi, new user here. I received the same email, as well as another family member. I did some quick searches, my results are below. I think it's legit, but I'll call the hotline on Monday as well to try to talk to someone.
0) The case itself is real, as others have mentioned. Google for "korean air price fixing" and you'll see stories pop up, all very recent.
1) I called the number listed (888-261-1921). There is a recording saying something to the effect of, "thank you for calling the hotline for the korean air passenger antitrust litigation. Our office is currently closed. Our normal hours are..."
2) The owner of "koreanairpassengercases.com" is:
Administrative Contact , Technical Contact :
Rust Consulting, Inc.
[email protected]
625 MARQUETTE AVE STE 880
MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55402
US
Phone: 612-359-2000
Record expires on 01-Mar-2013
Record created on 01-Mar-2011
Database last updated on 01-Mar-2011
3) I went to
www.rustconsulting.com. The web site is for a company that seems to process the paperwork associated with things like class action lawsuits, sending out notices, processing payments.
http://www.rustconsulting.com/About_...neral_FAQ.aspx
4) I also googled for "www.koreanairpassengercases.com" and there are several mentions, but mostly here on flyertalk.
5) I googled for "rust consulting korean air" and there is also one reference on FlyerTalk about another airline-related class action lawsuit.
6) I googled "rust consulting" and it is listed in the Better Business Bureau with an "A" rating. There is also a linkedin profile which says the following.
http://www.linkedin.com/company/rust-consulting
http://www.bbb.org/minnesota/busines...is-mn-11002239
As the national leader in class action settlement administration, clients trust Rust to bring experience, expertise and proven excellence to settlement administration.
Our unmatched practice area experience includes best-in-class innovations in class action settlement administration and more case experience than any other administrator.
Settlements from large to small benefit from Rust’s proactive approach, dedicated client service team, and overall excellence in service and delivery.
Rust consults with clients and provides services in complex areas requiring specialized systems and expertise, including class data management, legal notification, call center, claims processing, and award distributions.
More Experience than Any Other Administrator
Rust has provided claims administration services for over 2,500 class action settlements and distributed billions of dollars in settlement assets.
Specialties
Pre-Settlement Consultation, Proactive Client Service, Class Data Management, Legal Notification
7) I checked the mail headers for the message and it's sent from a "vertismail.com." I tried googling that but very little shows up. The domain owner is private. But it appears they send out messages on behalf of large companies, and I found a reference to an Apple laptop recall sent from vertismail.com (
http://discussions.apple.com/thread....readID=1526513). It's potentially confusing to read, because the original topic is about someone who lost their credit card and got a suspicious email, but if you read further down, there's a post about a macbook recall which appears to be legit.
So at this point, I'm thinking this leans towards the legit side. I guess this is a situation where a letter sent via postal mail would have been a good thing.
I'm hoping others can chime in here, if they've actually spoken to someone from the hotline, etc.