First American failed to safeguard customers’ personal
information, according to lawsuit
OAKLAND, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gibbs Law Group LLP has filed the first nationwide class action lawsuit
accusing First American Title Company of failing to properly secure 885
million sensitive customer files, instead choosing to store them in a
“woefully insecure,” publicly-accessible system. “First American has
turned the American dream of home ownership into a financial security
nightmare for its customers,” according to the complaint.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that First American Title Company was
negligent, and violated its contracts with customers, in the way it
stored their personal information, which included bank account numbers,
Social Security numbers, financial and tax records, and photos of their
drivers’ licenses. This grave lapse in security resulted in publicly
exposing hundreds of millions of customers’ personal files, leaving them
vulnerable to identify theft and other cybercrimes.
The victims assert that despite First American’s purported “commit[ment]
to safeguarding customers’ personal information,” and its repeated
promises to provide “secure, reliable, and affordable records storage
solutions,” the title insurance company, which is the largest of its
kind in the United States, was negligent in storing its records and
violated the law by exposing sensitive files to anyone who wanted to
access them. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that First American chose
to maintain these careless security practices despite repeated warnings
from the FBI about an exponential increase in cyberattacks targeting the
real estate industry.
“Consumers did not deserve for their personal information to be treated
so recklessly,” said Andre Mura of Gibbs Law Group.
“It is shocking that a company of this magnitude would blatantly
disregard the most basic safety protocols when housing troves of
highly-sensitive, personal information,” added data breach attorney
David Berger.
First American customers who believe they were affected by the First
American data leak and would like to learn more about their legal rights
in the First
American Data Breach Lawsuit may contact our team at (510) 350-9700.
About Gibbs Law Group
Gibbs
Law Group is a national litigation firm representing consumers in
lawsuits in state and federal courts. The firm serves individuals in
cases involving financial fraud and consumer protection laws. Gibbs Law
Group’s attorneys have been named among the Best Lawyers in
America © and have been recognized among the Titans of the
Plaintiffs Bar and Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California.
Contacts
EILEEN EPSTEIN
PHONE: 510.350.9728
EMAIL: [email protected]
