PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER
The Wall Street Journal reports that Equifax, TU and Experian are planning to delete tax liens from American's credit reports. The changes will go into effect in April 2018. The changes are a result of class-actions alleging that the tax lien information they bureaus report is not all that accurate. Anyone with tax lien information on their reports will obviously benefit making it easier for such persons to obtain credit.
CONTINUEThe Wall Street Journal on March 6, 2018, has a report on the latest ID theft scam. A fraudster applies for credit for someone who does not exist. Fraudsters start the process of creating a fake person in the records of the credit bureaus by asking a creditor for credit using a fake name and a social security number that has not been assigned or a number assigned to a child whose identity has not not made it into the credit files. Such fake numbers are known as "credit-profile" numbers or CPNs. Once a creditor grants the fake person credit,...
CONTINUEHere's a disturbing report on the Trump Administration's Pull-Back on Equifax Massive Data Breach Ever since Trump appointed Mike Mulvaney to take over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, he has been systematically moving from consumer protection to protecting payday lenders, credit agencies, and other industry groups. The latest outrage is an outrage--he is stepping back from investigating the massive Equifax data breach. Reuters reports the Consumer Bureau “has not ordered subpoenas against Equifax or sought sworn testimony from executives” and has also “shelved plans for on-the-ground tests of how Equifax protects data.” “This is frankly unbelievable,” stated National Consumer Law Center Attorney Chi Chi...
CONTINUEEquifax announced a new way to lock your Equifax credit files thereby denying access to your credit files using your mobile phone. However, when NY Times reporters Tara Bernard and Ron Lieber tried out the lock it was not working. The idea behind the service is that you can easily lock and unlock it with your phone. Experian and Trans Union also offer a way to lock your credit, at a cost of $20/month. The usual way to deny access to your files is with a security freeze on your credit reports. Security freezes may be a better approach if...
CONTINUEAs almost every knows, in Equifax suffered a massive data breach that affected about half of the United States population and nearly three-quarters of consumers with credit reports. To make matters worse, the stolen information included sensitive personal data useful for identity theft: Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and in some cases, driver’s license numbers. The thieves also got credit card information on 200,000 consumers. Consumer advocates are calling on Equifax to pay fees for security freezes for consumers. A security freeze is the most effective measure against “new account” identity theft, because it stops thieves from using the consumer’s stolen...
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Many lenders have already upgraded, or are in the process of upgrading, to FICO® Score 9. It is FICO's Score...
On February 26, 2019, a House Committee held an important hearing on the credit reporting agencies. The CEOs of Experian,...