In the wake of the Supreme Court’s TransUnion decision, courts have grappled with the question of when, if ever, victims of a data breach have suffered a sufficient injury-in-fact to meet Article III standing requirements. In a decision last week, Holmes v. Elephant Insurance, the Fourth Circuit held that some, but not all, of the […]
Category Archives: Identity Theft
In 2024, various telecom industry associations sued the FCC in the Sixth Circuit, challenging an order that imposed reporting requirements in the event of data breaches involving consumers’ personally identifiable information. Last week, the Sixth Circuit rejected those challenges. First, it held that the order was within the scope of the FCC’s authority under the […]
The Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) requires banks, credit unions, and similar financial institutions to reimburse their customers for unauthorized electronic transfers of money from the customers’ accounts. Several credit union customers saw money transferred out of their accounts as part of a scam called “SIM Swap,” which, it was claimed, took advantage of T-Mobile’s […]
For awhile now, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been scrutinizing the role and responsibilities of data brokers in collecting and selling consumers’ personal data. In a message at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy this week, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said that a proposed rule to provide greater oversight of third-party […]
A. Oloyede, I. Ajibade, C. Obunadike, A. Phillips, O. Shittu, E. Taiwo, all of Austin Peay State University, and S. Kizor-Akaraiwe of the University of Washington have written A Review of Cybersecurity as an Effective Tool for Fighting Identity Theft across United States, 12 International Journal on Cybernetics and Informatics, No.5, (October 2023). Here is […]
It’s Identity Theft Awareness Week, Jan. 29-Feb. 2. The Federal Trade Commission says this week it “will host free podcasts, webinars, Facebook Live interviews, and other events focused on avoiding and recovering from identity theft and spotting scams.” Join the FTC in spreading helpful information for consumers on social media.
In Bohnak v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, the Second Circuit considered how the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in TransUnion, LLC v. Ramirez impacted earlier Second Circuit precedent as to how to establish Article III standing in data breach cases. In short, the court held that TransUnion altered its precedent as to whether an injury arising […]
In its decisions in Spokeo v. Robins and TransUnion v. Ramirez, the Supreme Court held that consumers lack Article III standing to challenge violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act absent the showing of some concrete harm beyond the publication of inaccurate credit information. On Tuesday, the Fourth Circuit confronted how those decisions interact with […]
Aniket Kesari of NYU’s Information Law Institute has written Do Data Breach Notification Laws Work? Here’s the abstract: Over 2.8 million Americans have reported being victims identify theft in recent years, costing the U.S. economy at least $13 billion in 2020. In response to this growing problem, all 50 states have enacted some form of data […]
Jamie Luguri and Lior Strahilevitz, both of Chicago, have written Shining a Light on Dark Patterns. Here is the abstract: Dark patterns are user interfaces whose designers knowingly confuse users, make it difficult for users to express their actual preferences, or manipulate users into taking certain actions. They typically exploit cognitive biases and prompt online consumers […]