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Experian fined $650K by the FTC and DOJ for spam emails with no opt out

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Re: Experian fined $650K by the FTC and DOJ for spam emails with no opt out

#51

Post by kens »

I'm happy to see Experian fined. Last year, Experian kept sending me spam with the footer "This is not a marketing email" and I kept trying to unsubscribe. Eventually, I filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that this violated CAN-SPAM.

I'd like to think that my report contributed to this fine (although that's probably optimistic). In any event, Experian had to take the time to respond. They also canceled my unwanted "complimentary membership with Experian CreditWorks Basic", which ended the spam. So I recommend filing complaints if appropriate.

Re: Experian fined $650K by the FTC and DOJ for spam emails with no opt out

#53

Post by aceazzameen »

elif wrote: post #13

not only this but experian lets users sign up without confirming their email address. someone registered on MY email address and I had to spend about 7 hours on multiple phone calls over a period of 5 weeks in order to get control of an account with my email address, all to turn off their incessant spam. if you read their TOS technically you have to send a notarized letter with copy of photo ID social security number…

I hope that wasn't me! To avoid their spam I changed my email address in their system to a bunch of random letters/numbers a year or 2 ago. I made it pretty long. If that was your email, I apologize.

Re: Experian fined $650K by the FTC and DOJ for spam emails with no opt out

#54

Post by digging »

schemescape wrote: post #4

I’m still bitter that a credit reporting agency let my information get stolen, then offered free credit monitoring through Experian, and Experian just seems to be using this free monitoring for upselling. Hopefully this fine exceeds the revenue they generated from all this…

> Hopefully this fine exceeds the revenue they generated from all this…

Maybe if it were $650k per victim.

Re: Experian fined $650K by the FTC and DOJ for spam emails with no opt out

#55

Post by digging »

robertlagrant wrote: post #39
datavirtue wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can wave off fines all day. Forbid them from sending marketing emails for 24 months. See if anyone keeps their job after that.

Now I think about it, this is a much better approach than a fine. Is there a downside to this?

Getting sued for "infringing upon their right to free speech," I'm sure.

Re: Experian fined $650K by the FTC and DOJ for spam emails with no opt out

#56

Post by munk-a »

schemescape wrote: post #4

I’m still bitter that a credit reporting agency let my information get stolen, then offered free credit monitoring through Experian, and Experian just seems to be using this free monitoring for upselling. Hopefully this fine exceeds the revenue they generated from all this…

A just punishment for Experian and other credit agencies is dissolution - these companies gain value purely through rent seeking and are publicly unaccountable while operating in an extremely important field. Either the costs of background checks should just be shifted directly onto banks or we should have a government run public ledger of defaulted debts.

Re: Experian fined $650K by the FTC and DOJ for spam emails with no opt out

#59

Post by pc86 »

heikkilevanto wrote: post #19
pc86 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, it's ridiculous. There should be a one-click unsubscribe link at the bottom of every marketing email. You get click it, the email is immediately removed. None of this "please confirm your email" or "please wait ten days for processing" bullshit. Nobody is forwarding your marketing emails. It's not unreasonable to expect ESPs to generate the list at send time and not two weeks in advance.

No. There should be a some way to opt in, and not having done that, any "marketing email" should be illegal. Like it is here in EU.

Of course you have to opt in, that's how it is in the US as well. I'm talking about opting out after the fact.
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