4 ms·

That is uttlery insane!! I thought the best possible outcome for Equifax was to avoid getting sued into oblivion, but now that get a 7 million dollar contract w

That is uttlery insane!! I thought the best possible outcome for Equifax was to avoid getting sued into oblivion, but now that get a 7 million dollar contract with the IRS?! There are clearly two sets of rules - one for large companies where they can brazenly flaunt laws whilst going from strength to strength. And another set of rules for everyone else - where if you take a wrong step it's all over!

ak217 9y ago
$7 million is peanuts. People are being advised to perform credit freezes with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. For each credit freeze, you have to pay the credit agency $5-$10 depending on the state (only one state has forced them to do it for free; several states have no requirement to implement a credit freeze at all). The credit reporting agencies are raking in tens of millions of dollars in these fees because one of them was incompetent. That's basically racketeering. In case you think paying a company $10 not to disclose information it's gathered about you is a raw deal, TransUnion offers a different, free "credit monitoring" service (https://www.transunion.com/product/trueidentity-free-identity-protection https://www.transunion.com/product/trueidentity-free-identit...). It's free, there's no catch (their marketing copy), except that the terms of service include an arbitration agreement. So you give up your right to sue TransUnion or be in a class action.
- throwaway613834 9y ago
  Do you know if we have to give them our mobile phone number? Do they verify it somehow?
- extrapickles 9y ago
  Its even worse as freezing is useless as all of the info you need to lift the freeze is the same that was lost in the hack, provided you don't mind forging a few documents (see 0) and using the mail. [0]: https://help.equifax.com/s/article/ka137000000DRjGAAW/How-do-I-temporarily-lift-a-security-freeze-on-my-file-for-a-creditor https://help.equifax.com/s/article/ka137000000DRjGAAW/How-do...
recursive 9y ago
Ahem... it's "flout".
- philbarr 9y ago
  They are flaunting how they flouted, though...
- iliketosleep 9y ago
  Thank you - when a mistake is pointed out I'm far less likely to make it again.

ak217 9y ago

$7 million is peanuts. People are being advised to perform credit freezes with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. For each credit freeze, you have to pay the credit agency $5-$10 depending on the state (only one state has forced them to do it for free; several states have no requirement to implement a credit freeze at all). The credit reporting agencies are raking in tens of millions of dollars in these fees because one of them was incompetent. That's basically racketeering. In case you think paying a company $10 not to disclose information it's gathered about you is a raw deal, TransUnion offers a different, free "credit monitoring" service (https://www.transunion.com/product/trueidentity-free-identity-protection https://www.transunion.com/product/trueidentity-free-identit...). It's free, there's no catch (their marketing copy), except that the terms of service include an arbitration agreement. So you give up your right to sue TransUnion or be in a class action.

throwaway613834 9y ago
Do you know if we have to give them our mobile phone number? Do they verify it somehow?
extrapickles 9y ago
Its even worse as freezing is useless as all of the info you need to lift the freeze is the same that was lost in the hack, provided you don't mind forging a few documents (see 0) and using the mail. [0]: https://help.equifax.com/s/article/ka137000000DRjGAAW/How-do-I-temporarily-lift-a-security-freeze-on-my-file-for-a-creditor https://help.equifax.com/s/article/ka137000000DRjGAAW/How-do...

recursive 9y ago

Ahem... it's "flout".

philbarr 9y ago
They are flaunting how they flouted, though...
iliketosleep 9y ago
Thank you - when a mistake is pointed out I'm far less likely to make it again.