Exact Data is based in Chicago, Illinois and has offices in Los Angeles, California and Deerfield Beach, Florida.
On May 7, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission issued a release stating that a test-shopping sting operation through the FTC's Worldwide Privacy Protection Effort indicated that 10 companies, Exact Data ConsumerBase included, were willing to sell consumer information without abiding by the Fair Credit Reporting Act's (FCRA) requirements.
The incident aimed to increase awareness and expose data brokerage policies, not necessarily intending to accuse the companies of breaking laws.
According to The Washington Post, “This should help raise awareness,” said Laura Berger, an attorney with the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
[10] No actual data purchases were made, but an informal warning letter was sent to the company, as there was no hard evidence of wrongdoing.