Having your digital identity stolen is a major pain. It's easy to do if a thief gets access to your credit score's details. Wolf Richter explains why.
As part of their business model, credit bureaus sell this data to banks and other firms where you apply for credit, such as a credit card, a mortgage, a personal loan, a cellphone account, or some other form of credit. Your "FICO score" is based on credit bureau data. And they sell some of this data to their "partners" for marketing purposes. . . .Armed with this data, a crook could open credit accounts in these people’s names, borrow money, and leave the people struggling with the consequences, including having to fend off lenders, collection agencies, and lawyers that come chasing after them to collect this debt. Victims then also have a hard time applying for new credit. It’s a horror when it happens.
One way to reduce the likelihood of this happening is to freeze your data at the "big three" credit bureaus.
Until now, this was a major hassle, but no longer. To find out how you can do this easily, read Richter's article.
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