FTC Fines Background Checkers for Inaccurate, Free Reports (1)

Two background check companies, TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate, must pay a $5.8 million penalty for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act under a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

The people-search services embellished the contents of their background reports and didn’t properly limit who could access them, according to the agency’s complaint filed Monday in the US District Court for the Southern District of California. The accompanying proposed settlement must be approved by a federal judge.

This is the agency’s second filing under the FCRA this year. TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate were operating as consumer reporting agencies subject to ...