Maybe naive question: if you never create an account on any of the credit bureau websites, would you be less likely to be an identity theft subject?
Then as far as you know, someone else has already done it in your name.
It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
231–240 of 347 posts
Re: It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
#232Experian reminds me of enshittification, except it never had any interest in providing actual value to the general public to betray, so started off one step further along the process in a way. No individual in a personal capacity ever wanted to do business with Experian, like they wanted to buy an iPhone or something. You're introduced to the unpleasant fact of its existence at some point. They don't have anything yo…
Every time I log into experian.com, I am greeted with an offer to "upgrade" my account for $0.00. At the top is small text that says "Try Experian CreditWorks℠ Premium for 7 days for free, then pay just $24.99 each month†. You may cancel anytime if not satisfied." First of all, $25/month for an Experian product? I can't possibly fathom how anything they provide can be worth even 1/100th of that. That price just absol…
Why is it legal for a credit bureau to us charge money to monitor their potential mismanagement of our credit? It's literally blackmail.
Re: It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
#233Re: It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
#234The fact that we haven't nationalized credit reporting absolutely baffles me. These companies have so much power over our lives, are completely unaccountable, and are so incredibly incompetent.
Right, so as a solution to them having: too much power over our lives, being unaccountable and incompetent. Is:
Giving the backing of the state over their actions. Move from being accountable to government to _being_ the government. And the competency of giant public bureaucracies!
Re: It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
#235The fact that we haven't nationalized credit reporting absolutely baffles me. These companies have so much power over our lives, are completely unaccountable, and are so incredibly incompetent.
The whole credit rating system as it is in the US seems complete ass-backwards to me. It basically encourages people to go into debt to build a history of paying it back in time.
Here in the Netherlands it works exactly the opposite: the best 'rating' is to not be in the system at all. When you get a loan, the amount and monthly payments are registered. This registration is removed once you have paid back the loan.
When you ask your bank for a loan, they basically look at two things: how much is your income and how much are your current financial obligations (i.e. existing loans). Cost of living is subtracted from your monthly income, as well as the monthly payments of your existing loans (from the national debt registry). What's left is how much (additional) monthly payment you can afford. If the monthly payment for your newly requested loan is above this number it will be refused.
As such there is no such thing as a good or bad rating, only what you can and cannot afford.
Re: It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
A classic Mitchell & Webb sketch: https://youtu.be/-c57WKxeELY
Thank you for that, I'm actively looking to see how I can watch this show now.
This is from That Mitchell and Webb Sound, a radio show they did. The BBC don’t tend to region-lock audio, so you should be able to listen at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007lqrh (or using the BBC Sounds app).
Re: It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
#237Stepping back, and looking at the situation as a whole: the real problem is a lack of privacy laws. Banks, businesses and employers should be prohibited from sharing your personal information with third parties. I live in Switzerland, where this is the case. Even the government doesn't get this information. If the government thinks you're cheating on your taxes, they have to use warrants and follow the same procedure…
“Everything works just fine” It definitely worked great for a lot of dictators, tax cheats and the sort… I think Switzerland is a great example of why complete privacy isn’t fair on ordinary taxpayers - it allows the ultra-rich to hide what they owe
I'm an American living in Switzerland for over 10 years, and this was definitely my impression as well. But that isn't really the case anymore here - you can no longer have anonymous (i.e. only numbered) accounts, and Switzerland is no longer a preferred locations for dirty money.
The ironic thing is that one of those new hot spots, in addition to the usual suspects like Cyprus, the Caribbean, etc., is the USA. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/wyo... for some juicy details.
Re: It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
“Everything works just fine” It definitely worked great for a lot of dictators, tax cheats and the sort… I think Switzerland is a great example of why complete privacy isn’t fair on ordinary taxpayers - it allows the ultra-rich to hide what they owe
I'm an American living in Switzerland for over 10 years, and this was definitely my impression as well. But that isn't really the case anymore here - you can no longer have anonymous (i.e. only numbered) accounts, and Switzerland is no longer a preferred locations for dirty money. The ironic thing is that one of those new hot spots, in addition to the usual suspects like Cyprus, the Caribbean, etc., is the USA. See h…
As far as I know, Cyprus complies with FATCA/CRS as much as anyone else (unless the "anyone else" is, as you say, the US).
Re: It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
Well I am from the fraud remuneration department of Brazil and know the person who pays out compensation for these crimes. Simply send me all your personal information and credit card details and I’ll make sure you get your appropriate payout.
This is a scam.
Re: It's still easy for anyone to become you at Experian
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not a lawyer but this just screams legal action. Their systems clearly aren't sufficiently secure to prevent large scale fraud
There have been a couple of class actions, doesn't seem to have changed the outcome though.
Because like always, the punishment for the rich playing games with our lives is a negligible fine 1/10000th the profit they make selling your information to anyone with a buck.