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Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

kalzumeus.com

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Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#261

Post by woogiewonka »

moduspol wrote: post #133
mistersquid wrote: post #98

The kalzumeus.com article is informative and accessible, especially if your identity has been stolen. If your identity has not yet been stolen, the NYTimes has an article titled "Equifax's Instructions Are Confusing. Here's What to Do Now." [0] tl;dr: Freeze requests for your credit data at the big 3: Equifax [1], Experian [2], and Transunion [3]. (Note: these services may require multiple attempts, some persistence,…

I'm just going with the fraud alert (free) for now. Maybe it's moot, but it's really tough for me to justify giving all three companies money due to something like this.

United Lands of Extortion. FML

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#262

Post by quadrangle »

tertius wrote: post #70
quadrangle wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although that's all completely good advice for everyone , the facts on the ground are that we can't all be rich. The majority of rich people are the beneficiaries (either directly or indirectly) of an inherently exploitive system. A trivially small number of them actually added true wealth to the world equal to or greater than the wealth they've captured.

> the facts on the ground are that we can't all be rich Yes but it's actually very doable and we can do it while adding value. Be the example that you don't believe exists.

I didn't mean "in reality, we aren't all rich", I meant "in the reality of our economic system and the way it works fundamentally, it is impossible for us to all be rich."

Whatever possible route there is to everyone being rich, it involves a fundamentally different economic system. Socialists would have you believe they have the answer to that, but there's good reasons to be highly skeptical. Capitalists don't pretend to have the answer, they (generally, there's lots of variations of "capitalism") openly accept that we need some people to be rich and others to be poor in order for the system to operate.

I used to try to live according to Kant's Categorical Imperative where I would aim to be the example for the world I want to see, the one where everyone would prosper if they all behaved as I do. Then, I realized that was just a delusional way to think. It's an interesting philosophical question to discuss, but people don't all act as I do in reality, so acting as though that fantasy were real is often totally counterproductive or self-sacrificing with nobody benefiting. Reality is complicated and complex.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#263

Post by smoll »

I enjoyed reading this. Question for patio11 or others more knowledgeable about this - could a chatbot similar to the one being used to fight traffic tickets be useful in keeping a paper trail and putting the fear of god into banks/CRAs when this happens? Because why not automate this, especially for people who aren't as articulate/level-headed/organized, who might otherwise bungle it?

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#264

Post by blorsh »

quuquuquu wrote: post #157
moduspol wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems odd to extrapolate to the entire world's population of adults, yet rule out the possibility of living anywhere that houses cost less than a million dollars.

Thanks for writing :) I suppose the issue here is that the "wait and save" approach does not always have success, especially in the Bay Area. The reason for that is because there is a finite number of houses, and an excessive number of bidders. These bidders use loans and leverage (other people's money) to pay a higher price than they normally would be able to afford. Thus, waiting and saving is tougher. Of course th…

How much job capacity do you personally need? Isn't it enough to have just one job? Many cities have that and more, and it only takes one job to support a family.

I hope you don't expect to lose your job every few months, but in case you do, remember that new jobs pop into existence. It's not like a city with 100 jobs is on the verge of running out. (several years later: "oops, the last job got used up in 2018 and we can't ever make any more; this city is all used up")

I've had my tech job for a dozen years now. It pays well enough to get a 3500-square-foot house on half an acre and feed a huge family, even though the pay is perhaps only 2/3 of what I'd make in San Francisco or Mountain View. The 5x to 10x difference in housing cost more than makes up for the salary difference.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#265

Post by flipbrad »

seanalltogether wrote: post #131

Does anyone know what I can do as an US citizen abroad to protect myself now? I tried to get a free copy of my credit report but it required a us address to process. I tried to set up an account to freeze my credit but those require a us address as well.

Depends where you are. If in the EU, for example, you have some pretty strong rights to access personal data held about you, correct it, or even block its further use. They apply to data all over the world, provided it's processed by a company that has an "establishment" (e.g. subsidiary) in the EU, and the data use is somehow related to that establishment's activities. From May next year, when the new GDOR kicks in, the geographic link will be even easier to establish: businesses are caught the moment they monitor people in the EU. Check out the website of your local data protection authority for details.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#266

Post by Stratoscope »

ams6110 wrote: post #258
Stratoscope wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like several of you know more than I do about this, so I'm curious... I'm in the habit of using Priority Mail for things like this, because I can print out a mailing label at home and get a tracking number with delivery information. Assuming I put the tracking number in the letter as you suggest, is there still an advantage to using certified mail and a green return receipt instead? Or is Priority Mail equa…

Priority Mail AFAIK doesn't require a signature for receipt. It does provide tracking, but that's less rigorous proof than the actual return receipt.

Thanks. Priority Mail does have a signature-required option, which makes me curious whether that is as good as a return receipt.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#267

Post by patio11 »

smoll wrote: post #263

I enjoyed reading this. Question for patio11 or others more knowledgeable about this - could a chatbot similar to the one being used to fight traffic tickets be useful in keeping a paper trail and putting the fear of god into banks/CRAs when this happens? Because why not automate this, especially for people who aren't as articulate/level-headed/organized, who might otherwise bungle it?

Decision trees for interpretation of the law are fraught; talk to a lawyer about where the line is.

The reason for not automating communications is in the post. The CRAs have carte blanche to straight-up ignore anything which they think comes from an automated process or a firm/organization specializing in helping people with their credit.

Could you potentially automate some of the record keeping? Possibly. Could you automate the sending of paper? Certainly. Automating the receipt of paper is tricky since, for all the predictable reasons, someone last living at 123 Maple St will have a lot of difficulty telling the bank or CRA to mail them at 1234 Commercial Parkway Suite 666 to discuss their credit. (You can do it, and I have done it, but expect to be put through some identity verification hoops.)

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#268

Post by lawnchair_larry »

yardie wrote: post #130
patio11 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you live in the United States? In the United States: Where you live affects your credit worthiness. Illegal, and radioactively so. The practice was called redlining and a bank engaging in it would have hellfire rained upon it. Marital status affects your credit worthiness. Also illegal. The degree and school you attended affects your credit worthiness. Untrue; credit reports don't include this information. (It is…

> Do you live in the United States? Yes, we moved here after 15 years of living abroad. > Marital status affects your credit worthiness. They asked for this information. To paraphrase our mortgage broker, "having a 4 year degree makes you much more creditworthy." And I just confirmed it with a family member who works in Fannie Mae, says it's true. Have you looked at a 1003/residentialloan application lately? You and…

To paraphrase our mortgage broker, "having a 4 year degree makes you much more creditworthy." And I just confirmed it with a family member who works in Fannie Mae, says it's true.

This is absolutely untrue, and I'd have to assume that your family member's role does not require an understanding of this.

Edit: It's also not on form 3001, so I'm not sure what your last sentence is trying to say.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#269

Post by chrsstrm »

woogiewonka wrote: post #260
chrsstrm wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When a company "pulls" your credit they are not given the report for free. Equifax and the like sell a credit reporting service to banks and other companies who would want to see your credit history. When you freeze your report, reporting agencies are not allowed to sell your report to anyone, at your request, meaning they are losing revenue. The freeze fee makes sense when you realize your report is the product they…

That doesn't justify it.

I'm not arguing the merits of a policy or defending the CRAs, I'm shedding light on some of the reasons why it exists.

Re: Identity Theft, Credit Reports, and You

#270

Post by lawnchair_larry »

seanalltogether wrote: post #131

Does anyone know what I can do as an US citizen abroad to protect myself now? I tried to get a free copy of my credit report but it required a us address to process. I tried to set up an account to freeze my credit but those require a us address as well.

There's nothing you can be or need to be "protected" from, especially abroad, so don't waste any time on it. Don't freeze your credit over this.
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