Consumer complaint received 2024-10-22
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Information belongs to someone else
Company: EQUIFAX, INC. (CA)

Subject : Identity Theft and Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) To Whom It May Concern : I am writing to report a serious case of identity theft and credit reporting violations by your company. My personal information has been used fraudulently, resulting in unauthorized accounts being opened and reported on my credit file. This is not only a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), but also potentially a case of identity trafficking. According to my research, the FCRA requires credit bureaus to conduct a reasonable investigation when a consumer disputes the accuracy of information on their credit report. Additionally, the FCRA prohibits credit bureaus from reporting information they know or have reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate.

However, your company has failed to uphold these requirements. Specifically, I have disputed the following fraudulent accounts on multiple occasions, yet they continue to appear on my credit report : XXXX. ) XXXX XXXX - Account # XXXX Credit Card unauthorized balance. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX This is a clear violation of Sections 623 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) and 611 ( a ) ( 1 ) of the FCRA, which obligate you to conduct a reasonable investigation and remove inaccurate information from my credit file. Furthermore, the Uniform Commercial Code ( UCC ) and relevant case law, such as the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  establish that identity theft and the resulting fraudulent accounts constitute a form of " identity trafficking. '' As such, your company 's failure to properly investigate and remove these accounts makes you complicit in this criminal activity. I demand that you immediately remove the fraudulent accounts from my credit report, and provide me with a copy of my updated credit file. Failure to do so will result in further legal action. According to 15 U.S.C. Section 1681 c-2, a consumer reporting agency shall block the reporting of any information in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as information that resulted from an alleged identity theft, not later than 4 business days after the date of receipt by such agency. Here is a brief statement regarding data breaches related to the identity theft and credit reporting issues : In addition to the credit reporting violations, it is important to note the widespread data breaches that have exposed millions of consumers to identity theft and fraud. According to my research, the credit bureaus themselves have been the victims of several high-profile data breaches, further compromising the personal and financial information under their control. For example, in 2017, Equifax experienced a data breach that affected over 147 million consumers, exposing sensitive data such as social security numbers, birth dates, and credit card information. This breach was a direct result of Equifax 's failure to patch a known vulnerability in their systems, demonstrating a blatant disregard for
consumer data security. Similarly, in 201
5, XXXX suffered a data breach that exposed the personal information of XXXX XXXX XXXX customers. This breach was particularly concerning as it involved the theft of data from a credit bureau 's own systems, which are supposed to be the most secure.

These data breaches, coupled with the credit reporting violations outlined in my previous letter, paint a troubling picture of the credit bureaus ' inability to properly safeguard consumer information and uphold their legal obligations. It is clear that immediate action is required to address these systemic issues and protect consumers like myself from the devastating consequences of identity theft and fraud. I urge you to take this matter seriously and provide a comprehensive response detailing the steps you will take to rectify the situation and prevent such breaches and violations from occurring in the future.