Examples of Abuse Timeline
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In 2017 a free online service offered by Experian was found to be allowing anyone to request the PIN needed to unlock a previously-frozen consumer credit file. Freezing the file is intended to secure such accounts against tampering and fraud. To get an unlocking number, visitors needed to provide
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In March 2017, Experian agreed to pay a $3 million fine to settle a complaint brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that until 2014 the company had provided consumers with "educational" credit scores that were different from the FICO scores actually provided to credit card issues
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In October 2015, Experian announced that a breach of its computer systems exposed the Social Security numbers and other data of approximately 15 million people who applied for financing from the mobile network operator T-Mobile USA, to which Experian supplied credit assessment services. Experian
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In 2013, detailed personal information being sold by the fraudster-friendly underground service Superget.info was found to have been bought from CourtVentures, a public records aggregator bought by Experian in 2012. In late 2013, Superget.info's operator, 24-year-old Vietnamese national Ngô Minh
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In 2007, Experience agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint that the company's ads for a "free credit report" failed to explain clearly enough that consumers who signed up would be enrolled in a credit-monitoring programme costing $79.95 per year. The FTC alleged that
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As early as 2005, Experian began suggesting that its Mosaic consumer classification system, used by retail chains to tailor their stock for local populations could be used by political parties for campaigning. Based on work by Richard Webber, a visiting professor at University College London, Mosaic
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In 2000, Experian entered into a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission and agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges that the company blocked and delayed incoming phone calls from consumers wishing to discuss the contents of and possible errors in their credit reports. Under the Fair