Trans Union Facing Class Action Over Alleged Inclusion of Inaccurate Terrorist Watch List Info on Consumer Reports

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A Mount Joy, Pennsylvania resident and former U.S. military contractor has filed a proposed class action lawsuit in which he alleges Trans Union has violated federal law with regard to its inclusion of terrorist watch list information on consumer reports. 

More specifically, the 13-page lawsuit alleges Trans Union, who along with Equifax and Experian is known as one of the “Big Three” credit reporting agencies, has violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by improperly and inaccurately associating innocent individuals with terrorists, and others considered enemies of the United States, subject to government sanctions. 

“Plaintiff is no terrorist,” the lawsuit asserts. “He was a lawful U.S. permanent resident who proudly became a naturalized U.S. citizen and who bravely served the U.S. military as a contractor.”

Although Trans Union is well aware of the FCRA requirements that pertain to terrorist watch list information, the company has continued to associate “highly derogatory” details with innocent consumers in “a cavalier fashion and without using all available personal identifying information,” the suit says. According to the complaint, the only personal identifiers Trans Union “matched” to the plaintiff were two entries that associated him with the first name “Ahmed,” a common Arabic name. 

The lawsuit details that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) directs foreign policy-based sanctions at those considered to be threats to the national security of the nation’s economy, including terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, and individuals linked to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Per the case, OFAC publishes on its website a list of those deemed “specially designated nationals” and “blocked persons.” 

Inclusion on the OFAC list makes an individual legally ineligible for credit in the United States, could harm a person’s chances of employment and may subject them to deportation or criminal prosecution, the suit adds. 

From there, the lawsuit stresses that the inclusion of OFAC information on consumer reports is regulated by the FCRA, a fact Trans Union is well aware of after finding itself on the losing side in two lawsuits centered on claims that the agency willfully violated the law by inaccurately associating consumers with individuals on the OFAC list. In light of the unfavorable legal rulings, however, Trans Union “made no substantive changes to its procedures for associating consumers with the OFAC list,” the case says, and has continued to use only first and last names while disregarding more specific identifiers such as birth dates. From the suit: 

“During the course of the Ramirez litigation and trial, Trans Union represented that it gained the ability to consider dates of birth in the matching procedures used for OFAC records in 2013.

Nevertheless, Trans Union has continued to disregard dates of birth available on the OFAC records that it associates with consumers, instead placing OFAC alerts on the reports of consumers where it is clear from the face of the report that the date of birth of the OFAC criminal is different from the consumer who is the subject of the report.

Trans Union furthermore continues to place OFAC alerts on consumer reports even where the name of the OFAC criminal does not match the name of the consumer who is the subject of the report.” 

In all, Trans Union has failed to follow reasonable procedures to ensure the maximum possible accuracy of the OFAC information it sells about consumers, the lawsuit charges, claiming the plaintiff was “shocked” to learn he was associated with two different OFAC records included on his consumer report on the basis of his name.

“Plaintiff is not on the OFAC list or any other government watch list, his name does not match any name on the OFAC SDN list, and his year of birth is 1986, as Trans Union knows from the ordinary credit records it regularly obtains about Plaintiff from his creditors and which it has ‘on file’ about him, including at the time of the creation of the April 8, 2020 report,” the complaint says. 

The case alleges Trans Union, despite possessing the plaintiff’s full name, address, social security number and birth date, did not consider the man’s full name or date of birth in placing two different OFAC records on his consumer report. 

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