Consumer Fraud

July 20, 2020 By Marc Dann

Marc Dann - Marc Dann Consumer Fraud & Foreclosure Defense Attorney A lot has happened since we issued our first COVID-19 on March 13. In our tenth update we’ll take a look at recent developments, discuss impending challenges and opportunities, issue a couple warnings, and dispense some sage advice…

Involuntary Forbearance can threaten your financial future

Let’s start with a cautionary tale about involuntary mortgage forbearance. As we’ve said repeatedly, while it can be a lifesaver for people who are facing financial disaster as a result of the pandemic, forbearance is NOT forgiveness. Homeowners will eventually have to make the interest, principal, and escrow payments they have been delaying.

In addition, forbearance may jeopardize court-approved bankruptcy repayment plans and could make it difficult to buy a new home or refinance an existing loan. That’s why we urged homeowners to think carefully before taking advantage of the forbearance programs made available by the CARES Act and many private lenders.

Unfortunately, a number of banks and servicers didn’t give borrowers a choice. Back in May we warned that a number of banks and mortgage servicers were putting homeowners into forbearance by “mistake.” One of the offenders, and I’m sure this will shock no one, was Wells Fargo. According to a CNBC report, borrowers who called servicers seeking information about forbearance and other relief programs were put into forbearance without their consent by swamped call center workers.

At that time we doubted that Wells, perennial winner of the worst bank in the world award, was really doing this by accident. Turns out we were right. NBC News reported on July 16 that Wells was purposely placing borrowers into forbearance without seeking or receiving their permission.

The story focused on Troy Harlow of Buchanan, Virginia who filed personal bankruptcy in 2017 after a kidney transplant put him on permanent disability. Troy never missed a house payment because his primary goal was to stay in his home.

Wells Fargo is among the banks and servicers who have placed borrowers into forbearance without their consent.

That didn’t matter to Wells. Without his knowledge or permission, on April 29 the bank told the bankruptcy court overseeing Harlow’s payment plan that he had asked to pause his mortgage payments because he had been hurt by COVID-19. Harlow who never even thought about asking to be placed in forbearance continued to forward the full amount owed on his mortgage to Wells.

Harlow’s attorneys soon learned that he wasn’t the only victim. Wells had played the same dirty trick on homeowners in 11 states.

That news set off alarm bells here at DannLaw and led us to launch an investigation to determine if borrowers in Ohio and New Jersey have been scammed by Wells and other lenders. With that in mind, we’re asking homeowners to do two things:

First, contact your lender to determine if they have placed you in forbearance without your permission.

Second, if they have you should contact us right away so we can help rectify the problem and determine if we should file a class-action suit on behalf of every borrower who has been abused by Wells and other lenders. You can reach us by calling 216-373-0539 or filling out and submitting our contact form. Please do this right away because involuntary forbearance can cause real problems for years to come.

Is it time to take your loan out of forbearance?

If you chose to place your loan in forbearance, it’s time to start thinking about an exit strategy. If you haven’t been able to make payments because you lost your job or were laid-off when the COVID-19 crisis cratered the economy but are now back to work you should consider taking your loan out of forbearance before the amount of delayed interest, principal, and escrow you owe becomes unmanageable.

To determine if you should begin making your house payment again, consider the amount you owe on your home relative to its value. If your home is worth more than your mortgage balance it is an asset that you should protect. If it is worth less than you owe it is a liability so your mortgage payment should be viewed as a housing cost and compared to alternatives like paying rent. You should also evaluate other factors including the state of the housing market in your neighborhood, the company that owns your loan, and whether you intend to sell your house sometime in the next few years.

The moratorium on foreclosures is about to end

OH Foreclosure Timeline The moratorium on foreclosures imposed at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis are coming to an end in some Ohio counties and will lapse for federally backed mortgages at the end of August. That means sheriff’s sales will resume soon.

If you were in foreclosure when the pandemic struck you should contact your attorney right away. If you have not retained a lawyer contact us to arrange a no-cost consultation so we can review your case and discuss ways we may be able to help save your home. To learn more about the options available to you click here to visit the Foreclosure Defense page on Dannlaw.com.

Evictions set to resume

Dann Law Firm - Foreclosure Defense Today it is estimated that more than 8 million Americans, including tens of thousands of Ohioans, are behind on their rent payments and may soon be evicted from their homes. This number could rise substantially when the CARES Act’s Pandemic Unemployment Insurance payments sunset at the end of July.

While distressing, the situation is not hopeless if renters and landlords communicate with each other and work together to overcome the challenges caused by the pandemic. Here are some important steps to take:

1. Renters should communicate in writing with their landlords about their ability to pay, partially pay, or not pay rent. Both renters and landlords are trapped in a dilemma they did not cause, so landlords may be willing to work out payment arrangements. No one benefits from a vacant apartment.
2. Check this list to determine if your landlord has a federally backed mortgage and is therefore prohibited from evicting tenants. If you are a landlord with a federally backed mortgage you may apply for forbearance if your tenants are unable to pay their rent. The eviction moratorium/forbearance program will end in late August unless Congress extends it.
3. If you reach an agreement with your landlord regarding late or partial payments put it in writing. We will soon post a form on our website that will make it easy to create written versions of tenant/landlord agreements.
4. Do not ignore letters or emails you receive from a court and always attend hearings when ordered. While there are legal defenses available to renters and strict procedures that must be followed before a landlord can evict a tenant, ignoring notices and/or failing to appear just about guarantees that your belongings are going to end up on the street.
5. Retain legal counsel. If you cannot afford an attorney call your local legal aid office. As a service to people impacted by COVID-19, we are making DannLaw’s Cleveland and Cincinnati offices available if you need a computer or internet access to participate in a virtual eviction hearing. A member of our legal team will also be on hand to answer general questions about evictions.
6. I and Jeff Watson, General Counsel to a number of real estate investor groups will conduct a virtual seminar for landlords and tenants on Thursday, July 23 at 8:00 P.M. This informative session, titled, “The Eviction Tsunami: Facts and Strategies that Lawyers, Landlords and Tenants Must Know,” will feature a discussion of the growing eviction crisis as well advice and strategies that will help landlords avoid insolvency and tenants escape homelessness. To register for the seminar click here.

Collection firms are up to their old (dirty) tricks

While debt collectors are typically shameless, there has been noticeable slow-down in activity since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in March. But as states take steps to restart their economies and courts begin to reopen, we’ve received reports that collection lawyers, debt buyers and creditors are ramping up operations. That means debtors must be on the lookout for and pay close attention to any legal notices they receive.

As we noted in our discussion about evictions, the quickest way to lose a case and have a judgement entered against you is to ignore the problem. Trust me, it’s not going to go away simply because you toss a letter in File 13 or don’t show up for court. So please, respond in writing to communications you receive and appear in court when ordered.

In addition, you should contact us to arrange a no-cost consultation. We’ll be happy to discuss your situation and your options. We’ll also determine if debt collectors have violated any of the laws and rules that protect consumers. If they have, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Here’s a brief overview of the rules that govern the collections industry:

The Fair Debt Collections Act (FDCA). Enacted in 1978, the FDCPAis the most well-known federal consumer protection statute. Its primary purpose is to prevent third-party debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, false, or deceptive practices to collect debts. To put it simply, collectors may not lie to or mislead consumers in the course of attempting to collect a debt. Violators of the Act may be liable for statutory damages, actual damages, and attorney’s fees.
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) The TCPAlimits the use of automatic telephone dialing systems (ATDS) and artificial or prerecorded voice messages by telemarketers. Since its passage in 1991, the TCPA has been expanded to cover the use of ATDS’s and voice messages by debt collectors and now applies to cell phones if an affected consumer does not have a landline. Under the law collectors may not call a cell phone unless the owner gives consent. That means it’s important for consumers to deny consent verbally during the initial call and then to immediately withdraw consent in writing.

Statutory damages under TCPA range from $500.00 to $1,500.00 per call and may be applied to each and every call made if it is found that a debt collector willfully violated the Act. The ability to “stack” damages serves as an effective deterrent and provides just compensation for consumers who have been victimized by aggressive debt collectors who willfully violate the law.

Check Your Credit Report Weekly

The CARES Act allows you to obtain copies of your credit reports from annualcreditreport.com on a weekly basis. You should take advantage of this opportunity because a number of state unemployment computer systems have sustained massive data breaches. DannLaw has filed class-action lawsuits in Ohio and Arkansas related to those breaches.

In addition, several provisions of the CARES Act are inconsistent with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Please reach out to us right away if you notice inaccuracies on your credit report because you can sue credit reporting agencies and entities that furnish information to them if they refuse to correct mistakes.

The Con Premieres August 5

Marc Dann - "The Con" Documentary Screenshot Finally, I would like to extend a personal invitation for you to join me on August 5 for the premiere of “The Con,” a four-part series about the 2008 fraud and corruption-fueled collapse of America’s housing market. I’m both proud and humbled to say the series highlights the steps I took as Ohio Attorney General and at DannLaw to hold those responsible for the crisis that led to 10,000,000 families losing their homes accountable for their actions. The series provides a lesson for the risks we face as we hurtle toward a pandemic-related recession.

“The Con,” like all movies being released in the midst of the pandemic, is being released direct to video via independent theatres. To receive your invitation to the free live premiere, click here and then click on “Follow” above the video. If you like The Con on Facebook, you’ll be invited to the free live premiere on August 5. We’ll be posting more news about “The Con” in our blog and on our Facebook page in the weeks to come.

July 1, 2020 By Marc Dann

Marc Dann - Marc Dann Consumer Fraud & Foreclosure Defense Attorney The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau marked the culmination of a years-long attack against the agency by the business community, Congressional Republicans, and the Trump administration. It also provided a major dose of “be careful what you wish for because you just might get it” for the powerful forces who have been trying to destroy the CFPB since it was created in the wake of the collapse of the nation’s housing market in 2007-2008.

Precipitated by Donald Trump’s decision to fire director Richard Cordray in defiance of the statute that established the agency, the suit, filed by a firm that ran a mortgage modification scam, was expected to deal a fatal blow to the CFPB. Or at least that’s what those who lined up on the side of Seila, including the DOJ, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Foundation of Independent Businesses, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and a number of entities that had been tagged by the Bureau for abusing consumers, hoped.

The Court, in a 5-4 decision dashed those hopes. Yes, the majority upheld Cordray’s firing and found that the governing structure of the agency was unconstitutional, but this sentence dealt the CFPB’s foes two staggering blows:

“The agency may therefore continue to operate, but its Director, in light of our decision, must be removable by the President at will.” You may read the entire decision and the amicus briefs here.

The first blow: the CFPB may continue to operate and, thanks to this decision, constitutional challenges to its validity are now at an end. That’s not quite what the boys at the USCOC and the NFIB were looking for when they filed their amicus briefs.

And here’s the second: Kathy Kr CFPB Complaint Database aninger, the unqualified anti-consumer political hack Trump appointed to succeed Cordray can be booted out the door 30 seconds after Joe Biden is sworn into office.

The ironic part of this entire affair is that the governing structure of the CFPB was specifically intended to shield the agency from politics. The GOP’s attacks have now made who will run the Bureau and whether they will use its immense power to protect consumers a perpetual issue in presidential campaigns.

Along with taking great satisfaction at seeing the business community’s attack on the CFPB blow up in their collective faces, we at DannLaw are also extremely pleased that the ruling preserves our ability to act as “private attorneys general” who can use the Real Estate Sales Practices Act (RESPA) and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) to protect our clients and seek and secure damages from mortgage servicers and lenders who violate the law.

While little noticed, Director Cordray’s creation of a private right to action is one of the most important components of the laws and regulations enacted after the housing crisis. He, along with Senator Chris Dodd, Congressman Barney Frank, and then-professor Elizabeth Warren recognized that the failure of government regulators to exercise their oversight authority played a major role in bringing the nation and the world to the brink of a catastrophic financial meltdown. By giving private attorneys the power to use RESPA and TILA to hold bad actors accountable they created a second line of defense for homeowners, consumers, and the American economy.

At DannLaw, we’ve used that power to help hundreds of people fight off illegal foreclosures, obtain loan modifications, safeguard their assets, and hold onto their hopes and dreams. We’re truly grateful that those who sought to destroy the CFPB have instead guaranteed that we and lawyers like us across the country will be able to use the law to fight for our clients well into the future.

In fact, I’m so grateful, I think I’ll send the guys at Seila and the Trump Justice Department a thank you note today.

June 22, 2020 By Marc Dann

Marc Dann - Marc Dann Consumer Fraud & Foreclosure Defense Attorney Founder Marc Dann and Managing Partners Brian Flick and Javier Merino are pleased to announce that DannLaw has acquired the Zingarelli Law Office, one of the Cincinnati area’s most highly respected consumer and small business bankruptcy law firms.

Atty. Nick Zignarelli, who will work with DannLaw on an “of counsel” basis, has been widely recognized for his work in bankruptcy and consumer law. He is rated 10 out of a possible 10 by Avvo, has been named a top rated bankruptcy attorney by Super Lawyers, is highly recommended by Martindale, and was awarded the Medal of Excellence by the American Institute of Bankruptcy Attorneys. “We are gratified and proud that Atty. Zignarelli agreed to affiliate with DannLaw and excited about the prospect of working with and learning from him,” Atty. Dann said.

“Nick’s experience and knowledge will be especially valuable at a time when individuals who lost their jobs and small business owners forced to close up shop by the coronavirus pandemic are staring financial devastation in the face,” Dann said. “As I’ve noted in a number of our COVID-19 updates, bankruptcy may be their best, and in some cases, their only option. Nick’s small business bankruptcy expertise will significantly enhance DannLaw’s ability to help clients utilize the law to preserve their assets and secure their financial future.”

Atty. Flick, Managing Partner of DannLaw’s Cincinnati office and Atty. Zignarelli will work together to ensure a smooth transition as the acquisition progresses. “I look forward to working with Nick as we strive to provide the best possible legal representation to new and existing clients in southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky,” he said.

April 17, 2020 By Marc Dann

Marc Dann - Marc Dann Consumer Fraud & Foreclosure Defense Attorney I was mildly enthusiastic about the CARES Act immediately after it was passed because it appeared to be substantially different from the stimulus plan crafted by the federal government during the Great Recession of 2008.

That package funneled trillions of dollars to the big banks and Wall Street speculators whose unfettered greed nearly destroyed the world’s financial system but did relatively little to help working and middle-class families devastated by the collapse of the housing market. By the time the economy began to turn around 10,000,000 of them had lost their homes.

By contrast, the CARES Act appears to direct $937 billion in aid to where it’s needed most: into the pockets of the more than 20,000,000 million Americans who are now unemployed and the bank accounts of small business owners who are literally hours away from losing everything they have built.

Sure, Congress doled out hundreds of billions of dollars to corporate America, including the airlines who have been ripping off travelers for decades, but the stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment benefits, and small business loan programs funded by the Act will help millions of people weather the Covid-19 storm—at least for the next couple months.

While it appears that Congress got a few things right, there are holes in the legislation that could negatively impact consumers, homeowners and small business owners. In this update I’ll identify the gaps and provide advice on who to deal with or avoid them.

Problems with the Paycheck Protection Program

As I mentioned earlier, hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the nation are about to go under. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is designed to help keep them afloat by providing forgivable loans owners can use to pay expenses including employee wages, rent, and utilities.

In concept the program is great. In practice, not so much.

That’s because the nationally chartered banks and SBA approved lenders charged with administering the program are permitted to pick and choose which applications to accept and in what order. As a result, they’ve been playing favorites. Business owners who have an existing relationship with a PPP lender go to the front of the line. Those who don’t, including minorities, are shoved to the back—if they’re able to apply at all. I’m sure you won’t be shocked to learn that Wells Fargo and other large financial institutions are telling smaller customers to hit the road and “try other banks.” Publically owned Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse just announced that they alone sucked up $20 Million of the funds appropriated.

This type of discrimination is especially troubling in light of the fact that Congress did not appropriate enough money to meet the needs of all the small businesses that are in trouble. When the money runs out, thousands of hard-working entrepreneurs and their employees will be doomed simply because they couldn’t access the help they were promised and desperately need.

We launched an investigation into this situation after being contacted by frustrated and infuriated small business owners. If you think something is wrong with the way a lender is handling or, more to the point, not handling your PPP application, please give us a call or email me at mdann@dannlaw.com

On the positive side, a number of clients have told us that smaller community banks are eager to process PPP paperwork. We’re not surprised. Over the years we’ve learned that community banks are extremely responsive to the needs of small borrowers. If you’ve been unable to make headway with a large lender, I encourage you to contact one of the community banks listed here.

Stimulus Checks can be hijacked by Judgment Creditors and banks

Stimulus checks funded by the CARES Act are already being deposited in the bank accounts of millions of Americans. That’s the good news.

Here’s the bad news: The Act doesn’t prohibit private debt collectors from garnishing stimulus money. That means if you’re behind on debt payments and have an outstanding court judgment, a private debt collector can grab your stimulus check. Attorney Javier Merino, head of DannLaw’s New Jersey office, along with consumer lawyers Josh Denbeaux and Ira Metrick just published an op-ed in the New Jersey Law Journal dealing with this issue.

If you fall in this category you should keep a close eye on your bank account and withdraw the money as soon as it is deposited. To stay one step ahead of judgment creditors you can track your stimulus payment here.

Here’s more bad news: if you owe money to the bank where your stimulus payment is being direct-deposited the bank can grab it. For example, if you have a bank account that’s been overdrawn, and your stimulus payment is deposited into that account, the CARES Act does not prevent the bank from taking part or all of the stimulus payment to pay back the debt. So far J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo have said they will not seize stimulus funds. Bank of America, Citibank, and U.S. Bank have yet to clarify their positions.

Waiver of Federal Student Loan interest is in doubt

Federal Student Loans servicers have not been completely transparent about how they are going to implement the six-month zero interest, zero-fee forbearance included in the Act. In addition, some observers speculate that Navient, Greatlakes, and Nelnet don’t have the technology needed to properly track accounts. If you are taking advantage of the forbearance program please pay close attention to your loan statements and contact DannLaw or other attorneys if you notice a discrepancy in your account.

The CARES Act does not provide relief for federal loans originated before 2005 and private student loans

The CARES Act does not provide forbearance for federal student loans originated before 2005 that were not consolidated or private student loans. If your loan falls into these categories you must continue to make your payments. If you are unable to do so, contact your servicer in writing and request a modification, forbearance or another type of accommodation.

Monitor your credit if you are taking advantage of the mortgage forbearance provisions of the CARES Act.

As we’ve noted in previous updates, the CARES Act provides for up to 12 months of payment suspension/forbearance for borrowers with federally-backed loans owned by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or insured by the FHA, VA and the Department of Agriculture. To determine if you have a qualifying loan send a request for information (RFI) to your mortgage servicer. We’ve drafted a simple RFI you can use. To obtain a copy email us at intake@dannlaw.com.

Please remember forbearance isn’t forgiveness. That means you may be subject to higher mortgage payments, escrow payments, and other fees when you begin making your payments after the forbearance period. If you do take advantage of the Act’s forbearance program you should look closely at your monthly statement to make sure it is correct. You should also subscribe to a credit monitoring service and check regularly to make sure your servicer is not entering negative information on your credit report. If you notice discrepancies contact us at intake@dannlaw.com so we can help protect you and determine if you have legal claims that may entitle you to financial compensation.

Bankruptcy may be the solution to your financial problems

My parents always encouraged me to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Today, their advice is more valuable than ever before because the COVID-19 emergency is causing unprecedented damage to our economy and levels of unemployment not seen since the Great Depression. Study after study has shown that a majority of Americans would have a difficult time meeting their obligations for more than a month or two if they lost their source of income. The ongoing crisis has validated those studies.

The $1200 stimulus checks and small business loans may ease the pain in the short term, but when that money is gone many business owners and individuals will be forced to consider filing bankruptcy in the months ahead. And while many people are loathe to do so, bankruptcy protections may provide the best option for dealing with the devastation caused by the crisis—a crisis none of us created or could have anticipated.

The fact that the courts and collection activity are essentially shut down gives business owners and individuals a unique opportunity to closely examine their financial situation and begin planning for the future—including a future that includes bankruptcy. Doing so will put you in a good position to move forward once the crisis ends if you don’t have to file and will help ensure that bankruptcy provides the maximum protection for your family and your business if filing proves to be the best alternative.

If you would like to schedule a phone or video conference with one of our experienced bankruptcy attorneys to discuss your financial future and the options that are available to you, please email bflick@dannlaw.com We are here to listen, to advise, and to help.

August 13, 2019 By Marc Dann

Attorneys for Cleveland, Ohio-based DannLaw, one of the nation’s leading consumer protection law firms, today filed separate class-action suits in Federal Court against Phoenix Financial Services, LLC and Central Research, Inc. The suits allege that both firms have repeatedly violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (“FDCPA”), the federal law that prohibits debt collectors from engaging in abusive, deceptive and unfair practices.

Former Ohio Attorney General and DannLaw founder Marc Dann said the case against Phoenix Financial Services involves the firm’s efforts to collect “zombie” debt. “In Ohio, creditors are barred from suing to collect after four years,” he said. “But if the debtor makes a payment after the statutory time limit, the dead debt is brought back to life. That’s why the term zombie applies.”

“The law requires companies like Phoenix to tell consumers they aren’t obligated to pay a debt after the time limit has expired,” Atty. Dann continued. “Unfortunately, Phoenix and a number of other companies featured in a Washington Post story about the growing zombie debt industry, ignore that requirement and instead try to trick people into paying thousands of dollars they don’t actually owe. The practice is illegal and immoral so we’re asking the Court to make our clients whole and to bar the company from misleading consumers.” The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division at Cleveland.

According to Attorney Brian Flick, Managing Partner of DannLaw’s Cincinnati office, the suit against Central Research alleges that the Lowell, Arkansas debt collection firm has engaged in false, deceptive, and or misleading conduct by sending collection notices to debtors that list the amount due but do not disclose that the balance may increase due to late fees, interest, and other charges.

“A number of courts have ruled that debt collectors must tell consumers the amount they owe when they receive a demand letter will grow each and every day,’ Atty. Flick said. “Central’s conscious decision to disregard those rulings and the FDCPA have harmed our lead client and hundreds of other Ohioans. We’re determined to hold the company accountable for willfully violating the law.” The Central Research case was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.

Both suits seek statutory and actual damages and include a demand for a jury trial.

For more information, please contact Atty. Marc Dann at 216-373-0539/mdann@dannlaw.com or Atty. Brian Flick at 513-951-7124/bflick@dannlaw.com

The pleadings and exhibits may be viewed/downloaded by clicking on the links below:

Allen_Candace_2019_08_08_Complaint_draft_v_2.0

Allen_Candace_2019_08_09_Exhibit_A_-_Dunning_Letter

Hall_Warren_2019_08_08_Complaint_v_2.0

Hall_Warren_2019_08_09_Exhibit_A_-_Dunning_Letter

December 3, 2018 By Marc Dann

Lodging company data breach exposes hundreds of millions to identity theft, consumer fraud

DannLaw, one of the nation’s leading consumer protection law firms, is urging victims of the massive Starwood data breach to immediately take steps to both protect their personal information and preserve their right to seek financial compensation from the Marriott Corporation, Starwood’s parent company.

Last week Marriott announced that sensitive information belonging to 500,000,000 million people who used the company’s Starwood reservations system has been accessed by cybercriminals. According to the company the hackers copied names, addresses, dates of birth, passport numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, and encrypted credit card information from the Starwood reservation system. The company admits that the perpetrators may be able to overcome the encryption and use the credit card numbers.

“Starwood had a legal, ethical, and moral obligation to protect the information they obtained from consumers,” Atty. Marc Dann said. “The company utterly failed to meet those obligations and now as many as 500 million people are at risk of having their identities stolen and their credit damaged or ruined by cyber criminals. They must be held accountable for their actions.”

Atty. Dann noted that Marriott, like other companies that allowed customers’ personal data to be compromised, waited months to reveal that the reservation system had been hacked. “Even worse, cybersecurity experts agree that the company missed multiple opportunities to detect and/or prevent the breach since it occurred in 2014,” the former Ohio Attorney General said.

Those experts include Andrei Barysevich, a researcher with the security company Recorded Future Inc., who told the Wall Street Journal that a small breach the company suffered in 2015 should have set off alarms. “With all the resources they have, they should have been able to isolate hackers back in 2015,” he said. Instead, hackers mined the company’s reservation system for nearly four years.

“As a result, what could and should have been a minor problem has become one of the largest security failures in history,” Atty. Dann said. “Whether willful or careless, it appears that Marriott violated a number of consumer protection laws, and that means victims may be entitled to substantial compensation.”

Anyone who used the Starwood system to reserve a room at one of the following properties in the past four years may be at risk:

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts
Four Points by Sheraton
Westin Hotels & Resorts,
W Hotels
Regis, Element Hotels
Aloft Hotels,
The Luxury Collection,
Tribute Portfolio,
Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, and
Design Hotels.
Starwood-branded timeshare properties

“Anyone who believes their personal or credit card information has been stolen should visit https://answers.kroll.com/, the website Marriott set up to deal with the problem and take advantage of the opportunity to enroll in WebWatcher for free,” Atty. Dann said. “But please, do not agree to any waiver or release the company offers via email, regular mail, or via phone. The last thing a victim of the company’s carelessness should do is surrender their right to hold Marriott accountable at a later date.”

Atty. Dann also urged anyone whose data may have been compromised to arrange a free consultation with the firm’s highly experienced legal team by calling 877-475-8100 or by completing the form that may be accessed at https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSfWi22blTFnoe5fLD…/viewform “We will be happy to walk people through the steps they need to take to preserve their rights under the law.”

Finally, Atty. Dann suggested that potential victims take the following steps to protect themselves and their families:

Marriott is notifying impacted consumers by email. The email will come from starwoodhotels@email-marriott.com. When other companies provided notifications in this manner, cybercriminals sent fake emails asking individuals to provide information about themselves by providing links to fake websites or impersonating someone trusted. The email being sent by Starwood will not contain any attachments or request any information from consumers and links will only take recipients to the breach web site.
Check credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion and look for any unauthorized entries or accounts.
Place a free credit freeze on your files. A credit freeze makes it harder for someone to open a new account in your name.
If you decide against a credit freeze, consider placing a fraud alert on your files. A fraud alert warns creditors that you may be an identity theft victim and that they should verify that anyone seeking credit in your name really is you;
Change your login information on your Starwood accounts. If you used that same username and password on other sites, change those as well;
Consider placing alerts on your financial accounts so your financial institution alerts you when money above a pre-designated amount is withdrawn;
Beware of potential phishing emails; don’t open email messages or attachments from unknown senders and do not click on any unknown links. Fraudsters will frequently send coercive and misleading emails threatening account suspension or worse if sensitive information is not provided;
Remember, businesses will never ask customers to verify account information via email or phone. If in doubt, contact the business in question directly for verification and to report phishing emails and phone calls; and
Be on the lookout for spoofed email address. Spoofed email addresses are those that make minor changes in the domain name, such as changing the letter O to the number zero, or lowercase letter I to the number one. Scrutinize all incoming email addresses to ensure that the sender is truly legitimate.