EQUIFAX - TOO BIG TO FAIL

[Lee B]

The New York Times has a long detailed article about the evolution of Equifax. I encourage everyone to read it !

Several things that caught my attention:

1.  Equifax is totally focused on the marketing of their data brokerage services !

2.  On a daily basis they data mine all of our social media interactions i.e. Facebook, Twitter etc, match that up with everyone's credit information and sell that information.

3.  Almost all of the large employers like Walmart, Kroger etc give Equifax all of their payroll information which is then matched with everyone's credit info and sold !

4.  They currently have the payroll info of 50 % of all the employees in the U S, which they market to human resource departments.

5.  With the exception of a few credit union officials, no one from a good sized financial institution of any kind will comment.

6.  Pete Mills,a senior vice president at the Mortgage Bankers Association said, "We don't really have a choice to opt out of the credit reporting system."

After all Equifax likes to refer to itself as "Trusted stewards of Data"

I think I will have reread "Brave New World" and "Animal Farm"

 

   

[Lee B]

I forgot to mention that they also have pretty complete databases of public information like birth records, death records, drivers license info etc,

which they match with our credit info and you guessed it they sell it.

[Max W]

Hmm!  Did anyone ever sign off allowing Equifax or any other credit reporting agency to sell our personal info?  Of course, not because there is a loophole in Fair Credit Reporting Act which allows them to do so.    Although, it won't help with the hacked information, you can stop any further dissemination of your info at the following web site.

https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t,

It can be done electronically for 5 years, but if you want it to be permanent it has to be mailed in.  (This smells like some political compromise that was made in drafting the legislation.

 

 

[jklcpa]

@cbslee , if this NY Times article is available online, would you mind posting a link here or sending it to me in a PM.  Thanks.

[Lee B]

It was in my local Sunday Paper in print but here is the link:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/23/business/equifax-data-breach.html?mcubz=3r 

 

[jklcpa]

6 minutes ago, cbslee said:

It was in my local Sunday Paper in print but here is the link:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/23/business/equifax-data-breach.html?mcubz=3r 

 

Thank you!

[Edsel]

cbslee, I like your title "Too Big to Fail".

From my point of view, "Too Big to Fail" should be synonymous with "Too Big to Exist." 
 

[Randall]

5 hours ago, Edsel said:

cbslee, I like your title "Too Big to Fail".

From my point of view, "Too Big to Fail" should be synonymous with "Too Big to Exist." 
 

I agree.  Too big to fail is becoming too big NOT to fail.

 

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

This forum is public, and can be mined.  The private forum is not (at least as easily) public.  Not that I post anything I would not mind my customers reading.

[Catherine]

I attempt never to post online anything I do not want the world to see.