Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Responding to Direct and Indirect Identity Theft Disputes Under the FCRA: What Are The Differences?
Torres Talks Trade Podcast Episode 9 on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Global Business Identifier program
Phishing: Cybersecurity’s Biggest Threat
Digging Deeper, Episode 1: The Con Queen of Hollywood
Preserving Black History in Bucks County, PA, with Recorder of Deeds Robin Robinson: On Record PR
What is Consumer Fraud and What Deceptions are Employed?
What Companies Should Do to Prepare for Implementation of Cybersecurity Executive Order
The recent massive data breach at National Public Data (NPD), a background check company, has potentially compromised the personal information of millions, if not billions, of individuals, including their Social Security...more
The CFPB has released the Spring 2024 edition of Supervisory Highlights. The report discusses CFPB examinations in connection with credit reporting and furnishing that were completed from April 1, 2023 through December 31,...more
The first half of 2023 has produced significant developments for the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Important decisions have come from multiple areas of the field, including the federal courts of appeals and regulatory agencies. ...more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) have filed a joint amicus brief in which they urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse the decision of a New...more
Welcome to Balch's Consumer Finance Compass, where we'll navigate the complex regulatory sphere that is consumer finance. I'm Jason Tompkins, chair of the firm's Issues and Appeals Practice and member of the Consumer Finance...more
Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the agencies) filed an amici curiae brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse a...more
We first review the Fair Credit Reporting Act provisions that establish the different requirements for how a creditor or other furnisher of information to a credit bureau must respond to direct and indirect identify theft...more
In Suluki v. Credit One Bank, N.A. (Credit One), the Southern District of New York recently granted summary judgement to a creditor in a suit alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) for failure to conduct...more
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, credit card companies may face increased scrutiny, as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Dave Uejio recently stated that "credit reports play a huge role in...more
In Blackmon v. Ad Astra Recovery Services, an individual claiming to be Brittney Blackmon obtained a payday loan in her name and then never made a payment. The debt was subsequently assigned to defendant collection firm Ad...more
Introduction - The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was enacted to promote the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information maintained by Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs). In addition to imposing duties on the CRAs,...more
On April 29, 2021, the FTC announced a $20 million settlement with Vivint Smart Home, Inc. (Vivint), a national seller of in-home security and monitoring systems, based on violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the FTC...more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) reached a settlement with smart home security and monitoring company Vivint Smart Homes Inc. (“Vivint”) to resolve allegations that it improperly obtained and misused consumer credit...more
The best way to find out if you have been the victim of identity theft and to determine what accounts may have been opened in your name by criminals is to get a copy of your credit report....more
These are difficult times. Some parts of the economy have responded well to the pandemic crisis. Others, especially those in the travel, leisure, and entertainment industries have experienced enormous financial challenges. ...more
On February 25th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its annual Privacy and Data Security Update, which highlights the FTC’s activities during the past year....more
Synthetic identity fraud (SIF) is a recent phenomenon that scammers have used to circumvent the increasing awareness of traditional identity fraud. Instead of stealing a real person’s identity as with traditional identity...more
In the wake of a data breach, you should review your credit report and, where appropriate, institute a credit freeze. A one-stop website where you can connect to: (1) the official website to order your free annual credit...more
In 2017, Equifax, one of the three major credit reporting agencies, revealed a breach that could have compromised the data of 143 million consumers. This data breach led to a multitude of lawsuits against Equifax, including...more
Federal legislation recently took effect that prohibits consumer reporting agencies from charging a fee to place or remove (lift) a security freeze on a consumer credit report in response to a consumer request. ...more
Amendments affecting notice requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) went into effect on September 21, 2018. These amendments were part of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act...more
On September 12, 2018, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interim final rule updating two model disclosure forms to reflect changes made to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by the Economic Growth,...more
Q: My company uses a third-party vendor to conduct background checks on prospective employees. We heard there is a new model for the “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act” notice. Should we be using...more
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that, beginning today, consumers concerned about identity theft or data breaches can place credit freezes and one year fraud alerts with the three nationwide credit bureaus for free....more
Organizations are not generally required to offer services to consumers whose information was involved in a breach. Nonetheless, many organizations choose to offer credit reports (i.e., a list of the open credit accounts...more