Equifax fined for selling lists of names

A credit-reporting agency whose "inadequate procedures" led to the alleged sale of sensitive data on millions of consumers to companies that "should not have received them" was fined $393,000 as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the commission announced Wednesday. The FTC said that Equifax Information Services LLC violated federal law when it sold more than 17,000 lists of people behind on mortgage payments to Direct Lending Source, Inc. and other companies. DLS resold them to companies that sell loan modification and debt relief services, some of whom "have been the subject of law enforcement investigations," the FTC said. DLS was fined $1.2 million. Both companies admitted no wrongdoing. Read the FTC's announcement here.