Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Saying "Wasted" On Facebook Can Affect Your Credit Score (ajc.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the they'll-take-what-you-give-them dept.

JustAnotherOldGuy writes: According to a recent report by the Financial Times (paywalled), some of the top credit rating companies are now using people's social media accounts to assess their ability to repay debt. "If you look at how many times a person says 'wasted' in their profile, it has some value in predicting whether they're going to repay their debt," Will Lansing, chief executive at credit rating company FICO, told the Financial Times. "It's not much, but it's more than zero." According to the Financial Times, both FICO and TransUnion have had to find "alternative ways" to assess people who don't have a traditional credit profile — including people who haven't borrowed enough to give creditors an idea of what kind of risk they pose.

7 of 386 comments (clear)

  1. I have no debt and a hefty savings account by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    According to lenders this makes me a credit risk.

    1. Re:I have no debt and a hefty savings account by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Please refer to evidence for that. The US is one of the few countries having a credit scoring based on previous loans. Other countries have different ways of validating your ability to pay back so the credit score rating method might be worth to reconsider.

      (Posting as AC due to mod points)

    2. Re:I have no debt and a hefty savings account by Aristos+Mazer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      > On the other hand, they arn't forcing people to use their credit cards beyond their means.

      If you look at a lot of the ads that they send us, those ads suggest strongly that they're making the offer because it *is* within your means. These people with advanced math degrees say you're a great person to get this credit... it's easy to start thinking they understand something about your finances that you've missed if you don't really grasp the terms "compound interest" and "APR" etc. I think the sales pitch often crosses the line into dishonesty. Not always, but frequently.

    3. Re:I have no debt and a hefty savings account by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's not necessarily that you're a bad risk, it could be that you have low profit potential because you'll probably pay it off in time, not roll it over, etc.

      Somebody's bonus depends on you getting stung for fees & extra interest, you heartless bastard!

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  2. The Internet is turning into War Games by istartedi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The only winning move is not to play.

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    1. Re:The Internet is turning into War Games by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, starting with the credit companies.

  3. Facebook privacy by Wootery · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But if you lock-down your Facebook account properly, how can they have any idea if you're using the word 'wasted'? Do they pay Facebook for unlimited access or something?

    The article doesn't even think to mention this, and I'm surprised no-one here seems to have mentioned it either.