Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

krebsonsecurity.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 82 posts

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#21

Post by dingaling »

Silhouette wrote: post #16
johntb86 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How else would credit history (and credit in general) work?

Voluntarily? If you want to use credit, you have to let lenders collaborate to determine whether they're willing to lend to you, if that's their criteria for making decisions. If you don't want to use credit, they get no special pass to store and use personal data about you. I'm from Europe, where generally personal privacy gets more emphasis than it seems to in some places, notably the US. We have explicit laws abou…

I'm convinced that those 'errors' on reports are actually phishing.

When I ordered my reports I paid with postal orders, so as not to leak any financial information back to the agencies. I'm glad I did so, as the details ( other than my mortgage ) were laughably incorrect.

I was on the verge of writing to correct them and then caught myself - that's exactly what they want, isn't it? So hopefully by now they've diverged even further from the truth.

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#22

Post by icu »

Thanks cylo for the post. Sadly we can't seem to trust the credit agencies or Government agencies with data protection. We need a politician who will champion some sort of legal offence (Federal?) for digital data protection breaches whatever the industry/company (above anything that already exists) that will scare companies enough that they start taking digital identity seriously. Maybe that's a pipe dream but I get the sense after reading this article that regulators just don't carry a big enough stick or have too light a touch when punishing serious infractions.

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#23

Post by dangrossman »

callmeed wrote: post #19
3327 wrote: post #8

Well, is it fair to say that the credit system in the US is fu ed up? Oligopoly of 3 agencies have pretty much entire control of your fate. Yes Fate. Purchasing power means cash and since credit = cash these companies control the cash that you have at disposal. Which means your FATE. Its insanely difficult to pierce oligopolistic structures and Cartels because of obvious reasons. But some day some startup needs to ta…

Yes absolutely. I currently cannot buy a house despite having a six-figure income for 4 years, money in savings, and having no debt save my student loan. All because of bad decisions I made in years past.

Actual bad decisions you made in the past are a valid reason not to risk underwriting a large loan to you. There are valid criticisms of the credit agencies, but that doesn't seem like one of them.

If you want a mortgage and you feel you have a convincing reason a bank should risk entrusting you with their money despite a bad credit history, try an in-person appointment with a lender at a local credit union. Be prepared to show your bank statements, several years of tax returns, and if you're self-employed, a signed letter from your business's accountant about the health of your cash flow. You'll definitely need enough cash on hand for a downpayment of at least 30% the house's value; good strategy even if it weren't required.

If you really want to look credit-worthy, use that six figure income to pay off those student loans before you take on an even larger debt obligation.

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#24

Post by malandrew »

callmeed wrote: post #19
3327 wrote: post #8

Well, is it fair to say that the credit system in the US is fu ed up? Oligopoly of 3 agencies have pretty much entire control of your fate. Yes Fate. Purchasing power means cash and since credit = cash these companies control the cash that you have at disposal. Which means your FATE. Its insanely difficult to pierce oligopolistic structures and Cartels because of obvious reasons. But some day some startup needs to ta…

Yes absolutely. I currently cannot buy a house despite having a six-figure income for 4 years, money in savings, and having no debt save my student loan. All because of bad decisions I made in years past.

I thought credit rating things only lasted 7 years. Are your credit transgressions more recent than that?

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#25

Post by malandrew »

mindslight wrote: post #18

Except there's actually no such thing as "identity theft" - it's a mere figment of the credit industry's (tracking industry's) fantasy in which they're omniscient, and an attempt to slowly push the responsibility for bank fraud onto uninvolved third parties. In reality, some would-be bank fraudsters got ahold of some non-secret information.

I wonder if you could mount a class-action lawsuit against multiple financial institutions on behalf of all the "identity theft victims".

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#26

Post by marincounty »

malandrew wrote: post #24
callmeed wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes absolutely. I currently cannot buy a house despite having a six-figure income for 4 years, money in savings, and having no debt save my student loan. All because of bad decisions I made in years past.

I thought credit rating things only lasted 7 years. Are your credit transgressions more recent than that?

I'm pretty sure it's 7 years. After that they're suspose to remove the information. They don't really care though. You need to call and have it removed. Sometimes you need to really hassel them.

If you have old debt, some buyers of that old debt are fraudlently trying to make it look like new debt by filing it with credit agencies--fight it. It's all about statue of limitations.

Oh, I've noticed some of you are very protective of our credit system. I've always felt most credit cards are very unfair. No real control over your rate of interest has alwalys bothered me.

While, I'm on a rant. The Credit Agencies need some competition? It would be a great start up? A credit agency that actually looks at an individuals ability to pay back a loan.

It shouldn't be a crime to pay off your bills without using a credit card. Oh yes, they claim to look at utility bills, etc, but in order to get the really good credit terms they want to see you used high interest credit cards through out your life.

I'll never forget the look on my fathers face when he was refused a credit card, because he never saw the need to use credit until he was in his 60's. This was after paying off a morgage.

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#27

Post by callmeed »

malandrew wrote: post #24
callmeed wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes absolutely. I currently cannot buy a house despite having a six-figure income for 4 years, money in savings, and having no debt save my student loan. All because of bad decisions I made in years past.

I thought credit rating things only lasted 7 years. Are your credit transgressions more recent than that?

Most are, but (from what I understand) there are ways items can stay on for longer. For example, if your account is sold or resold to a collection agency, I believe the clock resets under the new creditor.

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#28

Post by callmeed »

dangrossman wrote: post #23
callmeed wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes absolutely. I currently cannot buy a house despite having a six-figure income for 4 years, money in savings, and having no debt save my student loan. All because of bad decisions I made in years past.

Actual bad decisions you made in the past are a valid reason not to risk underwriting a large loan to you. There are valid criticisms of the credit agencies, but that doesn't seem like one of them. If you want a mortgage and you feel you have a convincing reason a bank should risk entrusting you with their money despite a bad credit history, try an in-person appointment with a lender at a local credit union. Be prepa…

I don't disagree with you–but it can be frustrating to know you've improved both your responsibility and your earning power yet only be judged by the past.

For example, I've paid cash for the last 5 cars our family has purchased over the last 6 years. Why doesn't my ability to do that apply to my credit-worthiness? Small things like that annoy me about the agencies/system.

Also, the median home price where we live is $500-600K (depending on the city/neighborhood). 30% of that is quite a down-payment.

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#29

Post by dangrossman »

callmeed wrote: post #28
dangrossman wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actual bad decisions you made in the past are a valid reason not to risk underwriting a large loan to you. There are valid criticisms of the credit agencies, but that doesn't seem like one of them. If you want a mortgage and you feel you have a convincing reason a bank should risk entrusting you with their money despite a bad credit history, try an in-person appointment with a lender at a local credit union. Be prepa…

I don't disagree with you–but it can be frustrating to know you've improved both your responsibility and your earning power yet only be judged by the past. For example, I've paid cash for the last 5 cars our family has purchased over the last 6 years. Why doesn't my ability to do that apply to my credit-worthiness? Small things like that annoy me about the agencies/system. Also, the median home price where we live is…

> Also, the median home price where we live is $500-600K (depending on the city/neighborhood). 30% of that is quite a down-payment.

You're talking about being entrusted with half a million dollars of someone else's money. That's a huge bet to make on you; it goes both ways. If you can't afford the down payment, then you can't afford to live in that neighborhood.

30% isn't an unusual downpayment, especially if you don't have perfect credit. With a smaller downpayment, the bank is in a position where you could default on the mortgage, they repossess the house, and because it's depreciated in value at all, get less money when they sell it than they paid the person who sold the house to "you" (to the bank, really) after foreclosure and closing costs.

Re: Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service

#30

Post by johnchristopher »

dangrossman wrote: post #29
callmeed wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree with you–but it can be frustrating to know you've improved both your responsibility and your earning power yet only be judged by the past. For example, I've paid cash for the last 5 cars our family has purchased over the last 6 years. Why doesn't my ability to do that apply to my credit-worthiness? Small things like that annoy me about the agencies/system. Also, the median home price where we live is…

> Also, the median home price where we live is $500-600K (depending on the city/neighborhood). 30% of that is quite a down-payment. You're talking about being entrusted with half a million dollars of someone else's money. That's a huge bet to make on you; it goes both ways. If you can't afford the down payment, then you can't afford to live in that neighborhood. 30% isn't an unusual downpayment, especially if you don…

Why is the house "depreciated in value at all" ? I don't understand that part.
Post reply on HN