To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 00:36:44 -0400
Subject: [WSFA] Re: credit info to be released?
From: ronkean at juno.com
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

On Tue, 30 Jul 2002 20:01:50 -0400 "Michael Walsh"
<MJW at mail.press.jhu.edu> writes:
> >Received this in an email earlier today.  Any truth to
> >this?
>
> Not really, see: http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/optout_truth.htm
>
> Also, any message that says " PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO
> ALL IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, FRIENDS AND FAMILY. " smells wrong.
>
> mjw
>
> >

There was an article in the Washington Post about that message making the
rounds on the internet.  It has a grain of truth, in that all financial
service companies are now required to offer a consumer opt-out from the
companies selling certain info about the consumer (e.g name, address,
phone, spending patterns).  And the phone number given may in fact be
legit for that.

But the credit bureaus do not release sensitive credit information (such
as credit reports, SSNs, account ID numbers) to just anyone - they
usually demand the consumer's signed authorization faxed to them, or the
equivalent in the form of a copy of a signed credit application form,
before they will release the credit report to other than a
well-established institution such as a bank.  They also require the
consumer's SSN up front from the requestor, and some reasonable proof of
the requestor's ID.

Banks are considered to have a legitimate need to run credit checks on
certain new account holders (the fine print in the account agreement
covers that).  The credit bureaus will probably also cooperate with
legitimate private fraud investigations, as well as with the IRS, FBI,
State's Attorneys, D.A.s, attorneys seeking to enforce judgements, etc.

Anyone can get their own credit report on the internet for about $8
(payable by credit card on line) by going to any of the three major
credit bureaus' websites.  You need your SSN and a few pieces of personal
information to do that.  Given that fact, I suppose anyone in possession
of someone else's name, address, SSN, and a credit card number associated
with the target's name, could do the same, fraudulently.

Ron Kean

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