13 ms·

Wouldn't be necessary if we had a law that makes the banks liable for getting defrauded instead of the individual who's name, and other publicly available "secr

by kgwxd 8y ago

Wouldn't be necessary if we had a law that makes the banks liable for getting defrauded instead of the individual who's name, and other publicly available "secret" information, happens to be used to do it.

ihumanable 8y ago
Exactly. Let's take a look at what "Identity Theft" actually is. You go to a bank, give them your property, with the agreement that they will keep it safe and only allow you to access it, in return they get to lend it out and make interest with it. Then the bank just starts handing your property out to random people. They shrug and go, "Your identity has been stolen, it's your fault, best of luck getting it sorted out." That's insane. The bank failed to uphold their end of the deal, they failed to keep your property safe and guarantee that only you could access it, they should have to pay to fix their mistake. If financial institutions were responsible for erroneously dispensing money, establishing lines of credit, etc the incentives would align correctly and this problem would be solved. As long as they are allowed to push this responsibility onto the consumer we will have to keep dealing with a patchwork of locks, freezes, dark-web scans, vigilance in checking your credit report, and even if you do everything right, you will be to blame if a dedicated attacker tricks the bank. It's your fault, no matter how careful and diligent you are, that the bank made a mistake, they have no incentive to make this better.
adrr 8y ago
Banks are liable. If a fraudster steals someone identity and setups a bunch of credit cards and/or loans, the bank eats the loss. This is protected in contract law because the bank doesn’t have a valid contract with the victim.
- kgwxd 8y ago
  Are they held liable for the pain and suffering that ensues? Are they forced to fix the persons credit score? They need to be punished for it, not just eat the loss. They make up the loss by charging insane interest rates, late fees and service fees. There should be jail time and personal responsibility.
  - adrr 8y ago
    If you want pain and suffering. Have someone steal your identity when they get arrested. I have had my identity stolen, I just disputed accounts on my credit report. It took me about an hour. The 3 credit cards companies and two cell companies lost about $25k total. If debt collectors call, tell them to prove the debt which they can't do so they go away.

by kgwxd 8y ago

ihumanable 8y ago

Exactly. Let's take a look at what "Identity Theft" actually is. You go to a bank, give them your property, with the agreement that they will keep it safe and only allow you to access it, in return they get to lend it out and make interest with it. Then the bank just starts handing your property out to random people. They shrug and go, "Your identity has been stolen, it's your fault, best of luck getting it sorted out." That's insane. The bank failed to uphold their end of the deal, they failed to keep your property safe and guarantee that only you could access it, they should have to pay to fix their mistake. If financial institutions were responsible for erroneously dispensing money, establishing lines of credit, etc the incentives would align correctly and this problem would be solved. As long as they are allowed to push this responsibility onto the consumer we will have to keep dealing with a patchwork of locks, freezes, dark-web scans, vigilance in checking your credit report, and even if you do everything right, you will be to blame if a dedicated attacker tricks the bank. It's your fault, no matter how careful and diligent you are, that the bank made a mistake, they have no incentive to make this better.

adrr 8y ago

Banks are liable. If a fraudster steals someone identity and setups a bunch of credit cards and/or loans, the bank eats the loss. This is protected in contract law because the bank doesn’t have a valid contract with the victim.

kgwxd 8y ago
Are they held liable for the pain and suffering that ensues? Are they forced to fix the persons credit score? They need to be punished for it, not just eat the loss. They make up the loss by charging insane interest rates, late fees and service fees. There should be jail time and personal responsibility.
- adrr 8y ago
  If you want pain and suffering. Have someone steal your identity when they get arrested. I have had my identity stolen, I just disputed accounts on my credit report. It took me about an hour. The 3 credit cards companies and two cell companies lost about $25k total. If debt collectors call, tell them to prove the debt which they can't do so they go away.