Amazon has agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle allegations from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it failed to properly assist customers who became victims of identity theft.
According to the FTC’s complaint, Amazon violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by refusing to provide customers with information about purchases made through fraudulent accounts created using their personal details. The regulator said many victims struggled to obtain records needed to investigate or resolve identity theft cases.
The complaint describes Amazon’s customer support process as unnecessarily difficult, claiming some victims were asked to identify the person who opened the fraudulent account before company representatives would release any related records. In one case, a customer reportedly tried more than 30 different names in an attempt to identify the account holder, but Amazon still did not remove the victim’s credit card information from the fraudulent account.
The FTC also alleged that Amazon failed to respond to identity theft record requests within the 30-day deadline required under federal law.
In response, an Amazon spokesperson said the company has resolved the matter with the FTC and has introduced new process improvements to better support customers who believe they are victims of identity theft. The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
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