Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty and change how it handles requests from identity theft victims to resolve allegations that it vi
Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty and change how it handles requests from identity theft victims to resolve allegations that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Justice Department announced.
A federal court entered a stipulated order against Amazon in a case investigated and referred to the Justice Department by the Federal Trade Commission.
The government alleged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that Amazon failed to provide identity theft victims with requested records of transactions involving people believed to have fraudulently used their identification.
The government also alleged Amazon failed to provide the records within 30 days of a request.
Under the order, Amazon must provide identity theft victims who request them with records of transactions alleged to have resulted from identity theft.
The records must be provided free of charge within 30 days, subject to verification of the victim’s identity and identity theft claim.
Amazon must also post a notice on its website explaining how identity theft victims can request the records.
“Consumers whose identities have been stolen should not face unnecessary red tape when they investigate how their identities were misused and seek to clear their names,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said.
Shumate said the Justice Department would continue working with the FTC to protect identity theft victims.
