4 ms·

It's called knowledge-based authentication, a kind of identity proofing. This could conceivably be implemented such that your personally identifiable informatio

It's called knowledge-based authentication, a kind of identity proofing. This could conceivably be implemented such that your personally identifiable information stayed with the third party (who already has it) and never crossed eBay's path, though I don't know if that's the case here. Credit agencies already have this information about you, so it's perhaps no surprise Equifax is the first result for "identity proofing" on Google.

_delirium 14y ago
I've had to do that before when applying for a credit card, but the information wasn't very accurate. They were asking a bunch of questions about my mortgage, which I've never had. Eventually I realized they had somehow gotten my parents' mortgage attached to my name (possibly because I was on one of their credit card accounts years ago?), and once I realized that, I was able to answer the questions correctly by asking my parents what to answer. But, not too impressed.
- joshred 14y ago
  You might want to check your credit report.
- harshreality 14y ago
  When entities with access to your credit history do that, they present a mixture of true and false questions. It's quite possible they were expecting you to say that, no, you didn't have that mortgage.
- DanBC 14y ago
  Thats committed a criminal offence in the UK. I'm assuming you're in the US. You need some sensible privacy laws.
  - culturestate 14y ago
    Which part? The questions themselves or the commingling of credit histories?
    - DanBC 14y ago
      Storing information insecurely, releasing someone else's data without their permission, etc. EDIT: Here's the official guidance from the regulator: (http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/sector_guides/finance.aspx http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/sector_guides/financ...) (http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/credit.aspx http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/c...) Page 12 of this document talks about "associations" (http://www.experian.co.uk/downloads/consumer/creditRefAgencyExplained.pdf http://www.experian.co.uk/downloads/consumer/creditRefAgency...) - credit reference agencies cannot use data about one person at an address to rate a different person at that address, even if they have the same surname, unless there is some financial link.
      - culturestate 14y ago
        Re: "associations," I doubt very much it's intentional; more likely a mixup in the data.
- culturestate 14y ago
  I've had a similar experience; despite repeated attempts to correct it, my dad's AmEx invariably shows up on my Equifax report. Apparently I've had quite a nice line with them since I turned 8.
- BryanB55 14y ago
  Always happens to me too. Except I have the same name as my Dad so things are even more confusing. They tend to ask me the name of my brother and his birthdate etc... Except I don't have a brother. Usually if I enter the info of my Dad's brother it gets processed as correct.

_delirium 14y ago

I've had to do that before when applying for a credit card, but the information wasn't very accurate. They were asking a bunch of questions about my mortgage, which I've never had. Eventually I realized they had somehow gotten my parents' mortgage attached to my name (possibly because I was on one of their credit card accounts years ago?), and once I realized that, I was able to answer the questions correctly by asking my parents what to answer. But, not too impressed.

joshred 14y ago
You might want to check your credit report.
harshreality 14y ago
When entities with access to your credit history do that, they present a mixture of true and false questions. It's quite possible they were expecting you to say that, no, you didn't have that mortgage.
DanBC 14y ago
Thats committed a criminal offence in the UK. I'm assuming you're in the US. You need some sensible privacy laws.
- culturestate 14y ago
  Which part? The questions themselves or the commingling of credit histories?
  - DanBC 14y ago
    Storing information insecurely, releasing someone else's data without their permission, etc. EDIT: Here's the official guidance from the regulator: (http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/sector_guides/finance.aspx http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/sector_guides/financ...) (http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/credit.aspx http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/c...) Page 12 of this document talks about "associations" (http://www.experian.co.uk/downloads/consumer/creditRefAgencyExplained.pdf http://www.experian.co.uk/downloads/consumer/creditRefAgency...) - credit reference agencies cannot use data about one person at an address to rate a different person at that address, even if they have the same surname, unless there is some financial link.
    - culturestate 14y ago
      Re: "associations," I doubt very much it's intentional; more likely a mixup in the data.
culturestate 14y ago
I've had a similar experience; despite repeated attempts to correct it, my dad's AmEx invariably shows up on my Equifax report. Apparently I've had quite a nice line with them since I turned 8.
BryanB55 14y ago
Always happens to me too. Except I have the same name as my Dad so things are even more confusing. They tend to ask me the name of my brother and his birthdate etc... Except I don't have a brother. Usually if I enter the info of my Dad's brother it gets processed as correct.