$3 million FCRA settlement puts tenant background screening at the forefront
By: Lesley Fair | Oct 17, 2018 10:31AM
When people are looking to rent a house or apartment, the most important “screening” isn’t on the windows of the prospective new place. It’s the tenant background screening that goes on behind the scenes, the results of which can make the difference between home sweet home and homeless.
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New freeze law in effect September 21st: Is your business ready?
By: Andrew Smith, Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection | Sep 21, 2018 9:36AM
Thanks to a new federal law, free credit freezes and year-long fraud alerts are here, starting September 21st. What does that mean for your customers and employees?
Security freezes, also known as credit freezes, restrict access to a consumer’s credit file, making it harder for identity thieves to open new accounts in the consumer’s name. Starting September 21st, consumers can freeze and unfreeze their credit file for free. They also can get free freezes for their children.
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By: Lesley Fair | Aug 16, 2018 11:33AM
Food experts don’t recommend it for your ground chuck or pork shoulder, but starting September 21, 2018, there’s something consumers can safely freeze, unfreeze, and then freeze again.
It’s their credit file.
District court rules on redress, ROSCA, and disclosures
By: Lesley Fair | Jul 5, 2018 1:39PM
The scheme started with a Craigslist ad for a rental property and ended with a $5.2 million judgment for violations of the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Free Annual File Disclosures Rule.
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So You Received a CID: FAQs for Small Businesses
By: Thomas B. Pahl, Acting Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection | Jan 19, 2018 6:34PM
So you’ve received a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) from the Federal Trade Commission related to a consumer protection matter. Now what? We appreciate that it can be daunting for any company – especially a small business – and we want to be as transparent as possible about the process.
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Identity theft? Show me the records
By: Amanda Koulousias | Dec 18, 2017 10:29AM
There’s been a lot of talk about identity theft lately. Maybe you’ve even heard from customers affected by it. Your help can make a big difference. In fact, did you know that your business is required to provide identity theft victims with copies of records relating to the theft?
Fraud alert, freeze or lock after Equifax? Answers to questions people are asking you
By: Lisa Schifferle | Dec 13, 2017 3:59PM
After the Equifax breach, your customers, clients, and employees may be coming to you with questions. Some people are considering placing a fraud alert on their credit file. Others are thinking about freezing or locking their credit files to help prevent identity thieves from opening new accounts in their name. Here are some FAQs to help you help them think through their options.
Fraud alerts vs. credit freezes: FTC FAQs
By: Lesley Fair | Sep 14, 2017 10:51AM
UPDATE: As of September 21, 2018, the law says credit freezes are free for everyone, and alerts now last one year (not 90 days). Read more here.
Don Draper, The Man in the Iron Mask – and 400,000 consumers
By: Lesley Fair | May 17, 2017 2:06PM
It’s the thread that connects Alexandre Dumas’ The Man in the Iron Mask, the title character in The Talented Mr. Ripley, Don Draper’s back story in Mad Men – and an event scheduled for May 24, 2017, at the FTC.
It’s identity theft.
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Background checks on prospective employees: Keep required disclosures simple
By: David Lincicum | Apr 28, 2017 12:26PM
If your company gets background information on prospective employees, it’s likely you’re covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Before you get a background screening report, the law requires that you make certain disclosures and get a prospective employee’s authorization. Is it time for a FCRA compliance check?
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Background checks? Don’t double-dip.
By: Tiffany George | Feb 16, 2017 9:56AM
Need to verify an applicant's employment or income history? Checking to see if a candidate has a criminal history or civil judgments?
If you get information from a company that compiles it so you can make eligibility determinations, you must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). That means no double-dipping. If you get a consumer report for one purpose, don’t use it for a different purpose.
New Identity Theft Report helps you spot ID theft
By: Seena Gressin | Oct 14, 2016 1:05PM
Do you ever hear from customers or employees who want you to know that they’ve been affected by identity theft? If so, you’ll probably start seeing them use the new FTC Identity Theft Report. It tells you that someone important to your business is a crime victim, has alerted law enforcement, and is working to resolve the financial and emotional disruption that identity theft causes.
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Disposal proposal: FTC reviews Disposal Rule
By: Lesley Fair | Sep 12, 2016 11:09AM
As the old saying goes, “The job’s not finished until the paperwork is done.” But since the enactment of the FTC’s Disposal Rule, the job’s not finished until the paperwork – in this case, consumer reports or information derived from them – is securely destroyed.
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Civil penalties undergo inflation recalculation
By: Lesley Fair | Jun 29, 2016 12:17PM
If you’d like details about how the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act was amended to recalculate penalties using a formula based on the percentage by which the Department of Labor’s October 2015 Consumer Price Index exceeds the Index for October in the year in which the penalty was enacted or last adjusted by law, the FTC has issued a Federal Register Notice explaining it.
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I screen, you screen, we all screen: New FCRA brochure for background screening companies
By: Lesley Fair | May 10, 2016 12:04PM
Remember the old ad, “It’s a breath mint. It’s a candy mint. It’s two, two, two mints in one”? Or maybe the Saturday Night Live takeoff, “It’s a dessert topping and a floor wax!” It’s not unusual for something to do double duty. And if you’re in the business of compiling background information for employment purposes, you’re not just a background screening company. Chances are you’re also a consumer reporting agency subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Are your FCRA policies worth the paper they’re printed on?
By: Lesley Fair | May 9, 2016 11:01AM
In the words of movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn, “An oral contract isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.” If your company provides information about consumers to credit bureaus, the law requires that you have written policies in place regarding the accuracy and integrity of that data. But are your policies worth the paper they’re printed on? That’s one of the issues presented in an FTC settlement with Dallas-based debt collector Credit Protection Association.
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Top 10 consumer complaint categories: Is your industry on the list?
By: Lesley Fair | Mar 1, 2016 11:07AM
Usually a Top 10 list is something industries are delighted to find themselves on. So we’ll call this one a Flop 10 list, the FTC’s annual report about consumer complaints added in 2015 to the Consumer Sentinel database. How did your industry – and your state – rank in reported complaints?
First, the box score:
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2015 Privacy and Data Security Update
By: Jessica Rich, Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection | Jan 28, 2016 2:54PM
At the Federal Trade Commission, we’ve been very public about how we feel about privacy: we want consumers to enjoy the benefits of innovation in the marketplace, confident that their personal information – online and offline – is being handled responsibly.
IdentityTheft.gov means business!
By: Nat Wood, Associate Director, Division of Consumer & Business Education | Jan 28, 2016 12:38PM
Why is it your business if identity theft victims can get free personal recovery plans and other help that makes it easier for them to report and recover from identity theft? Here’s an answer: Because it’s good business – for you, your customers, your employees, and your community.
By: Lesley Fair | Jan 6, 2016 1:30PM
For a while now, pundits have been talking about the three V’s of big data: Volume – the vast quantity of information that can be gathered and analyzed; Velocity – the speed with which companies can accumulate, analyze, and use new data; and Variety – the breadth of data companies can analyze effectively.
