Date:  Mon, 09 Nov 1992  22:23:37 EST
From:  Message Center <FZC@cu.nih.gov>
Newsgroups: comp.society.privacy
Subject:  Credit Thieves
Reply-To: TDARCOS@mcimail.com
Organization: Computer Privacy Digest
X-Submissions-To: comp-privacy@pica.army.mil
X-Administrivia-To: comp-privacy-request@pica.army.mil
X-Computer-Privacy-Digest: Volume 1, Issue 098, Message 7 of 8

Article Summary, "The Credit Thieves"
(Washington Post, Nov. 9, Page D5),
"They Take Your Identity, Then Your Good Name."

In "The Credit Thieves" article author Stephen J. Shaw asks
if you have checked your credit rating lately;  some thieves
have been known to find people's personal information, then
create new identities - and new credit histories - for some
people.  Apparently name and address is enough to be able to
"borrow" someone else's credit information.  Some so-called
"credit doctors" charge $500 to find someone else with the
same or similar name and a clean record, and give the buyer
that person's credit record.

Shaw declares personal exposure to credit fraud: his credit
rating showed "almost $100,000" in credit, services and
merchandise ("loans, credit cards, personal bank loans, plane
tickets, home-entertainment systems, computers, clothes,
furniture, cellular telephones and a slew of other consumer
goodies") granted to "him" even though he lives in
Washington DC, and the credit granted to "him" was to someone
in Orlando Florida, and he's never heard of the things claimed
to be charged to him.

He only found out about the incident when he applied for credit
with an organization and they asked him why he didn't declare
all the OTHER credit cards and such that he has.

Apparently almost anyone with access to a computer terminal
with access to a regular credit reporting agency can
probably find out your credit history.

His "Credit Double" was only caught because he tried to buy a
house using Shaw's name.  The Secret Service is the agency that
handles trying to catch people who do this.  The "credit mugger"
is in jail awaiting trial for four counts of bank and credit
fraud.

Happy ending, eh?  NOT.  Now getting rid of the inaccurate and
fraudulent credit requests is a job in and of itself.

"Equifax had deleted five of the bogus accounts, kept another
four on my report and added three new ones.  TRW told me that
most of the disputed accounts had been deleted because the
creditor had not replied to TRW's inquiry, but added that the
'creditor may re-report item.' stating , in effect, that the
accounts could reappear in future editions."  Trans Union did
not have the incorrect accounts, but still had the Florida
address.  TRW also has his address listed as Florida.

A New York State agency found six out of 17 credit reporting
agencies which advertised would sell credit histories without
any attempt to verify the purpose of the request.  An executive
at TRW told a 1991 Congressional hearing that "if someone is
willing to lie to get a consumer report on another individual,
there is nothing in the present law to act as a deterrent."

Apparently it's not all that hard even to get someone's credit
report legally. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows
anyone with "a legitimate business need for the information"
can get your report; this includes prospective creditors and
employers.  "This loophole covers anything from renting an
apartment to paying for something by check to joining a health
club or a dating service.  Reports can be ordered legitimately
by employers checking on employees, insurance companies writing
policies, someone trying to collect a debt, and government
agencies deciding to grant any form of assistance or licenses."

The article notes one can request not to be put in the list of
"pre-screened" or "targeted" people that credit reporting agencies
sell to companies that sometimes offer credit.  You can also ask
to be taken off mailing lists by writing the Direct Marketing
Association, Mail Preference Services, 11 West 42nd St,
Box 3961, New York, NY 10163-3861.  They can also take reqests
just to remove your telephone number from some lists.

The article recommends contacting each of the three major agencies
twice yearly, and at least 6 months before a major purchase,
because some of them don't get what the others have.  If something
is wrong, contact the creditor directly as well as the reporting
agency.  If you can't get something corrected, ask to have a
statement inserted in your record.

If you're not satisfied, you can write the Federal Trade Commission
at Correspondence Dept, Room 692, Washington DC 20580.

The major credit reporting agencies are:
 - Equifax, Box 740241, Atlanta GA 30374    1-800-685-1111
 - Trans Union, Box 7000, North Olmsted, OH 44070
   Regional Offices:
   - Box 360, Philadelphia, PA, 19105         215-569-4582
   - 222 South First St., Suite 201,
     Louisville KY 40202                      502-584-0121
   - Box 3110, Fullerton, CA 92634            714-870-5191
 - TRW National Consumer Relations Center,
   12606 Greenville Ave., Box 749029,
   Dallas TX 75374-9029                       214-235-1200
   (TRW allows one free report a year by mail from)
   - TRW, Box 2350, Chatsworth CA, 91313-2350
---
Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM
These (uninformed and probably inaccurate) opinions are mine
alone; nobody else is (stupid enough to be) responsible for
them.