Amazon fined $2.25 million for failing to help identity theft victims

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Amazon $2.25 million to settle claims that the company failed to assist customers who fell victim to identity theft. In its complaint, the FTC accuses Amazon of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by refusing to provide customers with information about purchases made with fraudulent accounts.

According to the filing, identity theft victims who contacted Amazon "would often enter a Kafkaesque sequence" where a support agent would not provide records related to a fraudulent account unless the victim could name the person who opened it. In one instance, a victim attempted to guess the fraudulent account owner's name over 30 times, but Amazon allegedly refused to remove the victim's credit card information from the thief's account. The FTC also claims Amazon failed to respond to identity theft victims' requests for records within the 30 days required by the FCRA.

An Amazon spokesperson stated that the company has "resolved this matter with the FTC" and "implemented process improvements for customers who believe they may be victims of identity theft."