07/08/2026

Amazon to pay $2.25M in civil penalties

Southwest Ledger

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Online retail giant Amazon will be required to pay $2.25 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission charges that the company knowingly violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

On June 30, the FTC posted a press release alleging that Amazon “routinely denied requests from identity theft victims seeking records of fraudulent transactions made with their personal data.”

The $2.25 million civil penalty is a record for a Section 609(e) violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which allows identity theft victims to request and obtain business records related to fraudulent transactions at no cost, within 30 days of a proper request, according to the FTC.

The case against Amazon is the second case the FTC has brought using its authority under Section 609(e) of the FCRA. The first case was filed in 2020 against Kohl’s Department Stores Inc.

“Amazon often put identity theft victims through a Kafkaesque ordeal by demanding they identify the thief who stole their information before Amazon would release the records the law entitles them to - records that could help victims protect themselves and recover from the fraudulent conduct,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will not allow companies to simply ignore their legal obligations, especially those designed to support and protect identity theft victims.”