The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is an American federal law (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.) that regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer credit information. "Consumer reporting agencies," which are entities that collect and disseminate information about consumers to be used for credit evaluation and certain other purposes, have a number of responsibilities under FCRA, including the obligation to provide a consumer with information about him or her in the agency's files and to take steps to verify the accuracy of information disputed by a consumer. Companies that provide information to consumer reporting agencies also have specific legal obligations, including the duty to investigate disputed information. Also, users of the information for credit, insurance, or employment purposes must notify the consumer when an adverse action is taken on the basis of such reports. Further, users must identify the company that provided the report, so that the accuracy and completeness of the report may be verified or contested by the consumer.