Penalty Amount
$5,800,000
The FTC settled with background report providers TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate, charging they deceived consumers about the accuracy of their reports (often mischaracterizing traffic tickets as criminal records) and violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by operating as consumer reporting agencies without following its requirements, including ensuring accuracy and limiting permissible purposes. The companies will pay a $5.8 million penalty and implement a comprehensive FCRA compliance monitoring program.
Under the proposed order, TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate must pay a $5.8 million penalty. They are permanently prohibited from misrepresenting report accuracy and from failing to comply with the FCRA when operating as consumer reporting agencies. They must establish a comprehensive monitoring program to ensure FCRA compliance, mandate that endorsers disclose material connections, and monitor such endorsers.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements with background report providers to ensure clauses mandate strict FCRA compliance, accuracy certifications, and permissible use restrictions. For organizations acting as consumer reporting agencies, customer agreements must incorporate FCRA-required disclosures, accuracy guarantees, and audit rights. Key clauses to examine include data accuracy representations, compliance warranties, indemnification for FCRA violations, and limitations on use for employment or tenant screening. Recommended changes may involve adding FCRA compliance addendums, requiring regular accuracy audits, implementing robust data source verification protocols, and clarifying permissible purpose definitions to avoid misuse.
Entity
TruthFinder; Instant Checkmate
Industry
Data BrokerOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/09/ftc-says-truthfinder-instant-checkmate-deceived-users-about-background-report-accuracy-violated-fcra
truthfinder complaint
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/truthfinder_complaint.pdf
truthfinder proposed order
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/truthfinder_proposed_order.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate"
"pay a $5.8 million penalty"
"deceived consumers about whether consumers had criminal records and that the companies violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by operating as consumer reporting agencies while, among other things, failing to ensure the maximum possible accuracy of their consumer reports"
"failed to investigate and respond to consumer complaints about inaccuracies in their reports, as required by the FCRA"
"marketing and sold those reports for employment and tenant screening purposes"
"Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)"
The FTC rescinded its 2021 Policy Statement on Breaches by Health Apps and Other Connected Devices, which had purported to apply the Health Breach Notification Rule to health apps and connected devices that collect consumer health information. The rescission follows the Commission's 2024 update to the Health Breach Notification Rule, which already covers health apps and connected devices like fitness trackers, and implements an executive order directing agencies to eliminate obsolete guidance documents. No company was charged or penalized; this is a deregulatory action.
$12.0M
The FTC alleged that payment processor Humboldt Merchant Services knowingly processed payments for more than 1,000 shell merchant entities serving as fronts for fraudulent companies engaged in unauthorized billing scams, despite red flags including chargeback rates nearly 10 times higher than card-brand thresholds. Under the proposed stipulated order filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Humboldt will pay $12 million for consumer redress and is permanently banned from processing payments for merchants with a heightened risk of potential fraud.
$4.8M
The FTC charged Canada-based payment processor Nuvei Corporation and its subsidiaries with knowingly processing payments for fraudulent merchants, including more than $30 million in payments for the Reimage tech support scam from 2017 to 2023, as well as merchants making false earnings claims and impersonating government tax authorities. Under the stipulated order filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Nuvei will pay $4.85 million for consumer redress, is banned from serving tech support telemarketers, and must implement robust merchant screening and chargeback monitoring practices. Note: this is a payments-fraud facilitation action under the FTC Act and Telemarketing Sales Rule, not a data privacy violation.
The FTC announced a seven-day extension of the public comment period on its proposed enforcement policy statement regarding personalized pricing, pushing the deadline from Sept. 18, 2026 to Sept. 25, 2026. Personalized pricing refers to using personal data to set prices based on what the company believes an individual consumer is willing to spend. This is a procedural announcement about draft agency guidance, not an enforcement action against any company, and no entity was named, no violation found, and no penalty imposed.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joined the FTC and 22 state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Amazon for manipulating the auctions used to set advertising prices, replacing actual auction results with higher prices since 2019 and overcharging nearly 1.2 million U.S. advertising customers. The FTC estimates total improper surcharges from 2018 to 2026 exceed $20 billion, with costs ultimately passed to shoppers through higher prices. The states seek a permanent injunction and monetary relief; no penalty has been imposed yet as this is a newly filed complaint.
$930K
The FTC finalized orders requiring CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group), MindSift LLC, and 1010 Digital Works LLC to pay a total of $930,000 for falsely claiming they offered an AI-powered service that could target ads based on conversations captured from consumers' smart devices, and that consumers had opted into such targeting. The orders also prohibit the companies from making misrepresentations about their advertising services, voice data collection, and consumer consent.