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Credit Industry Opposes Anti-ID Theft Method
athloi alerts us to an opinion piece running in USA Today on the backlash against an effective tool to fight identity theft. The big three credit bureaus don't like the numerous state laws that have been passed requiring them to give consumers a simple way to freeze their credit. Watch for a push at the federal level to get a watered-down statute that pre-empts state laws. "Lawmakers across the country — pushed by consumer advocacy groups — ... have passed laws that allow consumers to freeze their credit, a surefire way to prevent thieves from opening new accounts or obtaining a mortgage in a consumer's name. Under a freeze, a consumer cuts off all access to his credit report and score, even his own. All lenders require that information, so no one can borrow money in the consumer's name until he or she lifts the freeze. It's simple, and it works. So, of course, it's under threat from the Consumer Data Industry Association, which represents the Big Three credit bureaus. They make millions gathering and selling consumer data. Freezes cut into that business."
If someone stole your identity, what is to stop them from pretending to be you in order to disable the freeze on your credit?
Three days from now?? Thats tomorrow!! ~Peter Griffin
I heard that it was actually just easier for them to pay off credit card fraud in general, than to prevent it.
Which is why they usually don't do anything to prevent it.
Remember the guy who tore up his credit card entry form like they said to, then taped it back together, put in an old address, and a different phone number, and still got a credit card in his name?
Yeah, the companies know how to prevent all this stuff, just it would cost more money than they lose by just eating the costs.
WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
How, exactly, do freezes legitimately cut into their business? No one is supposed to be able to get a credit report on you without your explicit authorization anyway. Any credit reports requested on you without your explicit authorization is a violation of federal law.
The bottom line is that the Big Three credit reporting agencies are sleezebags. If they had their way, they'd have it so that anyone can put anything in your credit file they like, and anyone can request any info they like any time. They don't want you to have any control over what's in your credit file, because ultimately that is the source of their power!
Screw this. I'm gonna go live off the grid somewhere.
My blog
I would be happy to have a credit freeze on all my accounts. Borrowing money is a horrible system. It works for starting a business or a mortage on a house but all the little scams like car loans and furniture store and such only encourage people to live beyond their means. Paying cash for those kinds of things is so much cheaper. Debt is a form of slavery, your no longer working for money your working so they won't take your things away. It makes it so the credit card company owns you. Sure you can be good with a credit card but they do everything in their power to make you fall in that trap so that they can milk as much money from you as possible.
Does anyone really think it is ok to just allow lenders to defame the name and credit history of anyone unlucky enough to have their SSN stolen?
More to the point, our credit heavy soceity has allowed less then honest companies to blackmail consumers that have legitimate business disputes by threatening to sour your credit report. In the old days if you had an honest dispute with a company and refused to pay them they could sue you and both sides would get their day in court. Now they can just insert an item into your credit file, wait until you are denied employment/that mortgage/security clearance/etc/etc and know that you will pay up because they basically have you by the balls.
No due process of law and the burden of proof is on the consumer to prove that the derogatory information is false -- not on the company to prove that it's true.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
If you can't get additional credit then you can't get yourself further into debt, which means that credit lenders and credit checking agencies can't make more money out of you for the duration of the freeze.
Helping people get more into debt is what these guys do. Why would they be remotely in favour of a measure that (along with helping to reduce the likelyhood of credit-related fraud) would allow you to stop yourself from spending money that you don't have and thus digging yourself further into the hole that they want you to live your life in.
Remember, when these guys say credit they mean debt.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Bullshit. The states should be more powerful than they are. There's nothing worse than a federal government dictating one-size-fits-all laws that don't really work for 49% of the population.
Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
The Urban Hippie
The good news is that I'm in one of those states. The bad news is that there are fees involved. I don't care if the fee is even $1. These credit people have fashioned an industry for themselves based on the [abuse of the] social security number and my personal information. They make a LOT of money from my information and while some laws move to help balance the situation, the benefit is still all theirs. They shouldn't require that I pay them ANYTHING to access, sell or otherwise make my information available to anyone.
That said, I plan to get my credit locked up anyway. Not that I'm at risk for anything at the moment... I'm not rich, my credit's not great and after I paid off my last car, I don't deal much in debt financing any longer. After going mostly cash-only, I find myself rather free and I've got more money in the bank than I've ever had. (I think between a savings account and a credit account, I think most people will agree which is more better in the long run.) Perhaps I'll stop getting all those damned credit card offers in the mail as well!
Live responsibly within your means and these are not critical problems. Live a lifestyle that is only sustainable through borrowed money and just about everything is a crisis. It doesn't take vast riches to live without borrowing money, it just takes an attitude adjustment, and the earlier you make it the easier it is.
Make the accumulation of wealth a priority and abandon status symbols entirely and it won't take too many years before credit doesn't matter much. Worked for me, and I was sadly in
Not to disagree of course with the original point that the burden of proof of identity belongs with the lender.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
You can live entirely within your means, never using (or using and paying in full) a credit card for anything and still wind up with a shitty credit score/report. All it takes is one major illness while having crappy or no medical insurance. Medical problems are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Other things (natural disasters, unemployment, divorce, bad investments, etc, etc) can also cause your financial situation to become untenable without ever trying to live beyond your means.
And while it's illegal for an employer to fire you because of a past bankruptcy, it's not illegal for them to fire you based upon derogatory information (i.e: missed payments) on your credit report. Nice catch-22 there, isn't it? Name one person that has filed bankruptcy who doesn't have other derogatory information on their credit report....
Make the accumulation of wealth a priority and abandon status symbols entirely and it won't take too many years before credit doesn't matter muchThat's good advice for anybody. But it's a myth that most people are driven to financial ruin by trying to live beyond their means.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Wow, I did not know I was on easy street!
Here is the problem with your argument; I have ALWAYS lived in my means! From the first job to my current job. When I was making $3.35 an hour and working 80 hours a week to now. If you live in your means you do not need credit. I did not say it was easy. You will have to make sacrifices and give up some stuff, but in the long run you will be better for it.
The first thing is to get a place to live that costs no more that 1/4 your wage! Can't afford an apartment by your self, get a room mate! Cut out the extras, going to the movies, eating out, beer, etc. Make a budget and stick with it!
Here is a good piece of advice, buy an older used car and pay cash for it. Then take $100 or $200 a month that you would spend on a car payment and put it in a savings account. In 2 to 3 years when the car dies you'll have $2400 to $3600 to buy another used car. Around here that will get you a car that is in GREAT shape. Now you are not paying the interest for the loan, the bank is paying you interest while you save the money for a car!
Am I on easy street? You tell me, For the last several years I have made $39,000 a year and managed to provide for a family of 4! House, cars (2), food, etc. I am the only provider, my wife does not work outside the home (meaning she tends to the house and does not add to the income) I have done all this with out living out side my means and with out gaining any real debt. I have a CC that I put $1000 on and did not pay. This is the only outstanding debt and was because the credit reporting agencies would not lock by account and the company I worked for put my info on the public internet. Make the report look bad and I am not a target for ID theft.
You just need to learn to manage money and be froogle with what you have.
I still have money to spend, invest, or do what I want with. If I am on easy street it is only because I worked my A** of getting here!