Misplaced Pages

#822177

85-408: TransUnion also markets credit reports and other credit and fraud-protection products directly to consumers. Like all credit reporting agencies, the company is required by U.S. law to provide consumers with one free credit report every year. Additionally a growing segment of TransUnion's business is its business offerings that use advanced big data , particularly its deep AI-TLOxp product. TransUnion

170-483: A $ 17.95/month charge for holding a TransUnion account. In March 2015, following a settlement with the New York Attorney-General, TransUnion, along with other credit reporting companies, Experian and Equifax , agreed to help consumers with errors and red flags on credit reports. Under the new settlement, credit-reporting firms are required to use trained employees to respond when a consumer flags

255-567: A consumer reporting agency specializing in alternative credit data. In mid-April 2018, TransUnion announced it intended to buy UK-based CallCredit Information Group for $ 1.4 billion, subject to regulatory approval. In December 2021, TransUnion completed the acquisitions of Neustar , initially announced in September 2021 for $ 3.1 billion, and Sontiq, initially announced in October 2021 for $ 638 million. In February 2023, TransUnion announced it

340-412: A credit card may significantly increase an individual's ability to obtain further credit, while privacy issues may prevent a fraud from being exposed. Certain telecommunication companies and their relationship with credit reporting bureaus have enabled fabricated credit files to be created by the exploit of privacy blocks, which deny any third party entity to actual information held by the government. While

425-459: A credit history from scratch in the new country. Therefore, it is usually difficult for immigrants to obtain credit cards and mortgages until after they have worked in the new country with a stable income for several years. Some lenders do take into account credit history from other countries, but this practice is not common. Among credit card companies, American Express can transfer credit cards from one country to another and in this way help start

510-411: A credit history. Adverse credit history , also called sub-prime credit history , non-status credit history , impaired credit history , poor credit history , and bad credit history , is a negative credit rating . A negative credit rating is often considered undesirable to lenders and other extenders of credit for the purposes of loaning money or capital. In the U.S., a consumer's credit history

595-580: A credit report and other sources of information to predict future delinquency. In many countries, when a customer submits an application for credit from a bank , credit card company, or a store, their information is forwarded to a credit bureau . The credit bureau matches the name, address and other identifying information on the credit applicant with information retained by the bureau in its files. The gathered records are then used by lenders to determine an individual's credit worthiness ; that is, determining an individual's ability and track record of repaying

680-475: A debt (income) and willingness (the credit report) as indicated by a history of regular, unmissed payments. These factors help lenders determine whether to extend credit, and on what terms. With the adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry, this report has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual percentage rate (APR), grace period and other contractual obligations of

765-457: A debt. The willingness to repay a debt is indicated by how timely past payments have been made to other lenders. Lenders like to see consumer debt obligations paid regularly and on time, and therefore focus particularly on missed payments and may not, for example, consider an overpayment as an offset for a missed payment. There has been much discussion over the accuracy of the data in consumer reports. In general, industry participants maintain that

850-475: A different Social Security number, date of birth, and address. Miller contacted Equifax repeatedly in writing and over the telephone, but Equifax refused to delete dozens of false collection accounts from Miller's credit report. The award included $ 18.4 million in punitive damages, and $ 180,000 in compensatory damages. Miller's lawyer, Justin Baxter, explained that the false reporting damaged Miller's reputation, she

935-487: A federal judge in Atlanta awarded class-action attorneys representing consumers approximately $ 77.5 million, suggesting that individual consumers might expect to receive around six or seven dollars. In July 2020, Equifax reported that, after purchasing Ansonia Credit Data (Ansonia), a major source of consumer credit, payments, and invoice receivables (AR) data used by financial companies and other borrowers and businesses in

SECTION 10

#1732781104823

1020-566: A government list of terrorists and other security threats. The plaintiffs' team of attorneys at Francis & Mailman, P.C. partnered with another California-based firm in the class action. Following up on this, in April 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said TransUnion is "incapable of operating its businesses lawfully". On 13 October 2017, the website for TransUnion's Central American division

1105-487: A known exploit on one of Equifax' web servers that had yet to be updated to access the credit records of more than 140 million Americans as well as some British and Canadian citizens before the breach was detected and shut down. Equifax disclosed the breach on September 7, 2017, after determining the means and scope of the breach. The event was considered "one of the biggest data breaches in history." Several consumers filed lawsuits in small-claims court against Equifax due to

1190-549: A mistake on their file. These employees are responsible for communicating with the lender and resolving the dispute. In January 2017, TransUnion was fined $ 5.5 million and ordered to pay $ 17.6 million in restitution, along with Equifax , by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) . The federal agency fined the companies "for deceiving consumers about the usefulness and actual cost of credit scores they sold to consumers". The CFPB also said

1275-423: A monthly basis. These reports include the amount each tenant pays, the timeliness of their last payment, and any remaining balance the tenant currently owes. As a result, some companies have started reporting rent payment information to TransUnion. In 2015, TransUnion acquired Trustev, a digital verification company specializing in online fraud for $ 21 million, minus debts. In 2017, TransUnion acquired FactorTrust,

1360-592: A person familiar with the breach believed this early-March intrusion may have been carried out by the same party that breached Equifax's computer systems again in May. According to Bloomberg, Equifax enlisted Mandiant (owned by FireEye, Inc. ) to assist in investigating the March attack. The same cybersecurity firm was hired following the May–July breach. Between May and July 2017, currently unidentified hackers were able to use

1445-486: A proprietary algorithm to uncover relationships between data. TLOxp also allows licensed investigators and law enforcement professionals to access personally identifiable information from credit header data . In 2014, a TransUnion analysis found that reporting rental payment information to credit bureaus can positively affect credit scores. As a result, TransUnion initiated a service called ResidentCredit, making it easy for property owners to report data about their tenants on

1530-595: A publicly traded company for the first time, trading under the symbol TRU. TransUnion eventually began to offer products and services for both businesses and consumers. For businesses, TransUnion updated its traditional credit score offering to include trended data that helps predict consumer repayment and debt behavior. This product, referred to as CreditVision, launched in October 2013. Its SmartMove™ service facilitates credit and background checks for landlords. The service also provides credit and background checks for partner companies, such as RentSpree. In September 2013,

1615-429: A ransom to not release it, the group N4ughtysecTU claims responsibility. Credit report A credit history is a record of a borrower's responsible repayment of debts. A credit report is a record of the borrower's credit history from a number of sources, including banks, credit card companies, collection agencies, and governments. A borrower's credit score is the result of a mathematical algorithm applied to

1700-494: A relatively short period of time can indicate the consumer is in a financially difficult situation. The information in a credit report is sold by credit agencies to organizations that are considering whether to offer credit to individuals or companies. It is also available to other entities with a "permissible purpose", as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The consequence of a negative credit rating

1785-532: A victim of identity theft, a fraud victim named Sloan filed suit against all three of the US's largest credit agencies. TransUnion and Experian settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In Sloan v. Equifax , a jury awarded Sloan $ 351,000. "She wrote letters. She called them. They saw the problem. They just didn't fix it," said her attorney, A. Hugo Blankingship III. TransUnion has also been criticized for concealing charges. Many users complained of not being aware of

SECTION 20

#1732781104823

1870-525: A year of supervised release, and was fined $ 55,000.00 and ordered to pay restitution of $ 117,117.61 in June 2019. An Equifax manager, Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, also pleaded guilty to insider trading and received a sentence of 8 months of home confinement. In July 2019, The New York Times , the New York Post and other media reported Equifax had agreed to pay approximately $ 650 million to settle with

1955-451: Is a risk, credit scoring offers a standardized way for lenders to assess that risk rapidly and "without prejudice". All credit bureaus also offer credit scoring as a supplemental service. Credit scores assess the likelihood that a borrower will repay a loan or other credit obligation based on factors like their borrowing and repayment history, the types of credit they have taken out and the overall length of their credit history. The higher

2040-824: Is available online through http://www.fcac.gc.ca , the site of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada . Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada. In some countries, in addition to privately owned credit bureaus, credit records are also maintained by the central bank . Particularly, in Spain , the Central Credit Register is kept by the Bank of Spain . In this country, individuals can obtain their credit reports free of charge by requesting them online or by mail. Credit history usually stays within one country. Even within

2125-444: Is called a negative credit rating or adverse credit history. A consumer's credit score is a number calculated from factors such as the amount of credit outstanding versus how much they owe, their past ability to pay all their bills on time, how long they have had credit, types of credit used and number of inquiries. The three major consumer reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion all sell credit scores to lenders. Fair Isaac

2210-461: Is compiled into a credit report by credit bureaus or consumer reporting agencies. The data reported to these agencies are primarily provided to them by creditors and includes detailed records of the relationship a person has with the creditor. Detailed account information, including payment history, credit limits, high and low balances, and any aggressive actions taken to recover overdue debts, are all reported regularly (usually monthly). This information

2295-403: Is one of the major developers of credit scores used by these consumer reporting agencies. The complete way in which a consumer's FICO score is calculated is complex. One of the factors in a consumer's FICO score is credit checks on their credit history. When a lender requests a credit score, it can cause a small drop in the credit score. That is because, as stated above, a number of inquiries over

2380-406: Is reviewed by a lender to determine whether to approve a loan and on what terms. As credit became more popular, it became more difficult for lenders to evaluate and approve credit card and loan applications in a timely and efficient manner. To address this issue, credit scoring was adopted. A benefit of scoring was that it made credit available to more consumers and at less cost. Credit scoring

2465-556: Is that the consumer credit reporting agencies it governs provide a free copy of the credit reports for any consumer who requests it, once per year. The government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and Credit Score . This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with explanations of the notations and codes that are used. It also contains general information on how to build or improve credit history, and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred. The publication

2550-462: Is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical value that describes an applicant's overall creditworthiness. Scores, frequently based on numbers (ranging from 300–850 for consumers in the United States), statistically analyze a credit history, in comparison to other debtors, and gauge the magnitude of financial risk. Since lending money to a person or company

2635-708: Is traded on the New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE ) under the symbol EFX. Equifax was founded as the Retail Credit Company by Cator and Guy Woolford in Atlanta, Georgia , as Retail Credit Company in 1899. By 1920, the company had offices throughout the United States and Canada. By the 1960s, Retail Credit Company was one of the nation's largest credit bureaus, holding files on millions of American and Canadian citizens. Even though

TransUnion - Misplaced Pages Continue

2720-439: Is typically a reduction in the likelihood that a lender will approve an application for credit under favorable terms, if at all. Interest rates on loans are significantly affected by credit history; the higher the credit rating, the lower the interest, while the lower the credit rating, the higher the interest. The increased interest is used to offset the higher rate of default within the low credit rating group of individuals. In

2805-411: Is very concerning. There is intrinsic vulnerability in collecting and storing personal financial information, and we need to have a meaningful discussion on how to protect and limit access to it." According to an October 2017 report from Motherboard , around December 2016, a security researcher examining Equifax's servers found that an online portal, created for Equifax employees only, was accessible to

2890-404: Is widespread concern that information in credit reports is prone to error. Thus Congress has enacted a series of laws aimed to resolve both the errors and the perception of errors. If a US consumer disputes some information in a credit report, the credit bureau has 30 days to verify the data. Over 70 percent of these consumer disputes are resolved within 14 days and then the consumer is notified of

2975-473: The Annualcreditreport.com website incorporates data from U.S. Equifax credit records. Equifax also offers fraud prevention products based on device fingerprinting such as "FraudIQ Authenticate Device." Equifax also offers a credit protection service, called Equifax Protect. According to senator Michael Crapo , "The amount of data that the private industry and Government collect and store

3060-439: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (U.S.) for deceiving customers about the cost of their services. Services advertised as $ 1 were actually billed at $ 200 per year. Equifax Equifax Inc. is an American multinational consumer credit reporting agency headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is one of the three largest consumer credit reporting agencies , along with Experian and TransUnion (together known as

3145-483: The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs businesses that compile credit reports. These businesses range from the big three credit reporting agencies, Experian , Equifax , TransUnion , to specialty credit reporting agencies that cater to specific clients including payday lenders, utility companies, casinos, landlords, medical service providers, and employers. One Fair Credit Reporting Act requirement

3230-593: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to resolve investigations by several state attorneys general, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , the FTC, and a consumer class-action lawsuit related to the data breach. By September 2019, however, Equifax had added qualifications and "hurdles" to its claims process which put in doubt whether the previously announced cash settlement of $ 125 per affected consumer would actually be awarded. On 19 December 2019,

3315-399: The U.S. Internal Revenue Service was reported to have suspended a $ 7.2 million contract with Equifax as a result of the attack. In 1982, Retail Credit Company was criticized for collecting "...facts, statistics, inaccuracies and rumors... about virtually every phase of a person's life; his marital troubles, jobs, school history, childhood, sex life, and political activities." The company

3400-563: The "Big Three"). Equifax collects and aggregates information on over 800 million individual consumers and more than 88 million businesses worldwide. In addition to credit and demographic data and services to business, Equifax sells credit monitoring and fraud prevention services directly to consumers. Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in the Americas, Europe , and Asia Pacific . With over 14,000 employees worldwide, Equifax has nearly US$ 5 billion in annual revenue and

3485-450: The 1960s and 1970s. These included that it collected "...   facts, statistics, inaccuracies and rumors ... about virtually every phase of a person's life; his marital troubles, jobs, school history, childhood, sex life, and political activities." The company was also alleged to reward its employees for collecting derogatory information on consumers. This led to discrimination against queer people and people of color . In 1970, after

TransUnion - Misplaced Pages Continue

3570-542: The Apple App Store and from Google Play . While these apps themselves were not reportedly connected to that breach, they had security flaws of their own, being vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks owing to some parts using HTTP instead of HTTPS . On October 8, 2017, Krebs reported that The Work Number , a website operated by Equifax's TALX division, exposed the salary histories for employees of tens of thousands of US companies to anyone in possession of

3655-521: The Australian market research and opinion polling company ReachTEL in September 2015, which continues to produce opinion polls in Australia. Equifax was the subject of more than 57,000 consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from October 2012 to September 17, 2017, with most complaints relating to incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, or misattributed information held by

3740-544: The National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange (NCTUE), an exchange of non-credit data including consumer payment history on telecommunications and utility accounts. In 1999, Equifax began offering services to the credit consumer sector in addition, such as credit fraud and identity theft prevention products. Equifax and other credit monitoring agencies are required by law to provide US residents with one free credit file disclosure every 12 months;

3825-574: The St. Louis area for reporting she was dead. A Heartland Bank spokesperson said the bank "immediately investigated and contacted the credit reporting agencies after Haman reported" she was still alive. An Equifax "spokesperson told the Post-Dispatch that Equifax blocked the Heartland account information from appearing on Haman's credit report after a reporter's inquiry." In April 2014, Equifax

3910-717: The United States, Canada and the UK, where it came into competition with companies such as Dun & Bradstreet and Experian . The insurance reporting was phased out. The company also had a division selling specialist credit information to the insurance industry but spun off this service, including the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) database as ChoicePoint in 1997. Equifax formerly offered digital certification services, which it sold to GeoTrust in September 2001. Also in 2001, Equifax spun off its payment services division, forming

3995-420: The United States, a creditor is required to give the reasons for denying credit to an applicant immediately and must also provide the name and address of the credit reporting agency who provided data that was used to make the decision. Astute consumers and criminal minded people have been able to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in the credit scoring systems to obtain credit. For example, previous ownership of

4080-530: The United States, insurance, housing, and employment can be denied based on a negative credit rating. A 2013 survey showed that employer credit checks on job seekers were preventing them from entering the workforce. Results indicated at the time that one in four unemployed Americans have been required to go through a credit check when applying for a job. Federal regulations require employers to receive permission from job candidates before running credit checks, but it could be difficult to enforce employer disclosure as to

4165-482: The attack. On March 1, 2018, Equifax announced that 2.4 million additional U.S. customers were affected by the breach, increasing the number of affected to 147.9 million Americans. The company claims to have discovered evidence of the cybercrime event on July 29, 2017. Residents in the United Kingdom (15.2 million) and Canada (about 19,000) were also impacted. The vulnerability which Chinese hackers leveraged

4250-504: The breach, which China has denied. In September 2017, Brian Krebs revealed that the Argentine arm of Equifax had left private data from approximately 14,000 consumers, and more than 100 staff members, available to anyone who entered "admin" as both the username and password for one of its online systems. On September 7, 2017, the same day as Equifax announced a large security breach , Equifax removed its official mobile apps from

4335-708: The breach, while Equifax later came to a $ 575 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission to offer either a cash payment or credit monitoring for those affected by the breach. The data from the breach has yet to be seen on black markets or the dark web by security experts, making it difficult to identify the origin of the breach. However, in February 2020, the United States Department of Justice indicted four members of China 's People's Liberation Army on nine charges related to

SECTION 50

#1732781104823

4420-610: The companies "lured consumers into costly recurring payments for credit-related products with false promises". Credit bureaus had the most complaints of all companies filed with the CFPB by consumers in 2018, with 34% of all complaints directed at TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian that year. In June 2017, a California jury ruled against TransUnion with a $ 60 million verdict in the largest Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) verdict in history. The San Francisco federal court jury awarded $ 60 million in damages to consumers who were falsely reported on

4505-512: The company acquired eScan Data Systems of Austin, Texas , to provide post-service eligibility determination support to hospitals and healthcare systems. The technology was integrated into TransUnion's ClearIQ platform, which tracks patients demographic and insurance related information to support benefit verification. In November 2013, TransUnion acquired TLO LLC, a company that leverages data in support of its investigative and risk management tools. Its TLOxp technology aggregates data sets and uses

4590-519: The company continued to do credit reporting, the majority of its business was making reports to insurance companies when people applied for new insurance policies, such as life, auto, fire and medical insurance. RCC also investigated insurance claims and made employment reports when people were seeking new jobs. Most of the credit work was then being done by a subsidiary , Retailers Commercial Agency. Retail Credit Company's information holdings and willingness to sell its information attracted criticism in

4675-502: The company had computerized its records, which led to wider availability of the personal information it held, the U.S. Congress held hearings that led to the enactment of the Fair Credit Reporting Act . This legislation gave consumers rights regarding information stored about them in corporate databanks. It is alleged that the hearings prompted the Retail Credit Company to change its name to Equifax in 1975 to improve its image. Equifax expanded into commercial credit reports on companies in

4760-441: The company. In September 2017, Equifax announced a cyber-security breach , which it claims to have occurred between mid-May and July 2017, where cybercriminals accessed approximately 145.5 million U.S. Equifax consumers' personal data, including their full names, Social Security numbers , birth dates, addresses, and driver license numbers . Equifax also confirmed at least 209,000 consumers' credit card credentials were taken in

4845-449: The credit card or loan. Credit scores vary from one scoring model to another, but in general the FICO scoring system is the standard in U.S., Canada and other global areas. The factors are similar and may include: Consumers can typically check their credit history by requesting credit reports from credit agencies and demanding correction of information if necessary. In the United States,

4930-627: The credit reporting system is designed to protect both lenders and borrowers, there are loopholes which can allow opportunistic individuals to abuse the system. A few of the motivations and techniques for credit abuse include churning , rapidfire credit applications, repetitive credit checks, selective credit freezes, applications for small business rather than personal credit, piggybacking and hacking, as it happened with Equifax in April and September 2017. Additionally, fraud can be committed on consumers by credit reporting agencies themselves. In 2013, Equifax and TransUnion were fined $ 23.3 million by

5015-475: The data in credit reports is very accurate. The credit bureaus point to their own study of 52 million credit reports to highlight that the data in reports is very accurate. The Consumer Data Industry Association testified before the United States Congress that less than two percent of those reports that resulted in a consumer dispute had data deleted because it was in error. Nonetheless, there

5100-458: The data of hundreds of thousands of Americans in order to show Equifax the vulnerabilities within its systems. They said they could have downloaded the data of all of Equifax's customers in 10 minutes: "I've seen a lot of bad things, but not this bad." The same types of sensitive private information of American consumers (names, birth dates, social security numbers, etc.) were exposed as in the May–July breach, according to Motherboard. Additionally,

5185-613: The deal were not disclosed. Equifax purchased eThority, a business intelligence (BI) company headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina , in October 2011. eThority is partnering with TALX , a St. Louis -based business unit of Equifax, and remained in Charleston. In February 2016, Equifax acquired the Australasian company Veda , the largest credit reference agency in Australia at the time. Veda had previously acquired

SECTION 60

#1732781104823

5270-431: The disclosure of the 2017 data breach. In January 2020, Equifax agreed to a global settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 U.S. states and territories. For those that were affected by the data breach, there were open suggestions to file claims against it. The settlement includes up to $ 425 million to help people affected by the data breach. Equifax ultimately reached

5355-452: The employee's Social Security Number and date of birth. For roughly half the US population, both of the latter pieces of data are known to be in possession of criminals, following Equifax's May–July 2017 security breach . In July 2019, Equifax settled with the Federal Trade Commission for $ 700 million. This number contains a $ 380,500,000 consumer restitution fund, part of the class action lawsuit. On October 12, 2017, Equifax's website

5440-399: The errors had affected only a few people. The following day, a class-action lawsuit was filed by Jacksonville, Florida resident Nydia Jenkins against Equifax alleging she had received a "substantially pricier car loan" (resulting in an additional loan payment of $ 2,352 more per year) due to Equifax reporting her credit score 130 points off from what it should have been. In February 2023, it

5525-401: The open Internet. "I didn't have to do anything fancy," the researcher told Motherboard, explaining that the site was vulnerable to a basic "forced browsing" bug. The researcher requested anonymity out of professional concerns. "All you had to do was put in a search term and get millions of results, just instantly—in cleartext, through a web app," they said. In total, the researcher downloaded

5610-444: The personal credit and payment history of individuals, indicating how they have honored financial obligations such as paying bills or repaying a loan . Credit grantors use this information to decide what sort of products or services to offer their customers, and on what terms. Equifax also provides commercial credit reports containing financial and non-financial data on businesses of all sizes. Equifax collects and provides data through

5695-624: The publicly listed company Certegy , which subsequently acquired Fidelity National Information Services in 2006. Certegy effectively became a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial as a result of this reverse acquisition merger (See Certegy and Fidelity National Information Services for further information) . In October 2010, Equifax announced it was acquiring Anakam, an identity verification software company headquartered in San Diego, California , which invented and pioneered SMS (text-message based) two-factor authentication . Terms of

5780-411: The reason for job denial. Note that it is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is "adverse". It is the individual lender or creditor which makes that decision; each lender has its own policy on what scores fall within their guidelines. The specific scores that fall within a lender's guidelines are most often not disclosed to the applicant due to competitive reasons . In

5865-450: The resolution. The Federal Trade Commission states that one large credit bureau notes 95 percent of those who dispute an item seem satisfied with the outcome. The other factor in determining whether a lender will provide a consumer credit or a loan is dependent on income. The higher the income, all other things being equal, the more credit the consumer can access. However, lenders make credit granting decisions based on both ability to repay

5950-574: The same credit card network or within the same multinational credit bureau, information is not shared between different countries. For example, Equifax Canada does not share credit information with Equifax in the United States. If a person has been living in Canada for many years and then moves to USA, when they apply for credit in the U.S., they may not be approved because of a lack of U.S. credit history, even if they had an excellent credit rating in their home country. An immigrant may end up establishing

6035-439: The same server targeted in the later breaches, which Motherboard speculates may suggest multiple breaches by more than one party may have occurred. On September 18, 2017, Bloomberg News reported that Equifax had been the victim of a "major breach of its computer systems" in March 2017, and that in early March it had begun "notifying a small number of outsiders and banking customers" about this attack. According to Bloomberg,

6120-422: The score, the better the credit history and the higher the probability that the loan will be repaid on time. When creditors report an excessive number of late payments, or trouble with collecting payments, the score suffers. Similarly, when adverse judgments and collection agency activity are reported, the score decreases even more. Repeated delinquencies or public record entries can lower the score and trigger what

6205-480: The security of their customers' personal information." Equifax selected the law firm DLA Piper to work on the case in D.C. It had turned to Edelman for earlier crisis control after the October 2017 privacy breach. Consumer lawsuits claiming damages under the FCRA have been successful in small claims court. Equifax software engineer Sudhakar Reddy was charged with insider trading for purchasing options prior to

6290-416: The security researchers said they were able to gain shell access on Equifax's servers and discovered and reported to Equifax additional vulnerabilities. According to the reporting, despite receiving this warning from the security researcher, the affected portal was not closed until six months later in June, well after the March and May–July breaches had begun. Moreover, the employee portal was reportedly not

6375-600: The shipping and logistics sectors, the firm has expanded its position in commercial payment technology solutions. On 2 August 2022, a week after its CEO Mark Begor was deemed "uniquely qualified to lead the Company" and was granted a $ 25 million bonus package by Equifax's board, the Wall Street Journal reported that Equifax had sent millions of incorrectly calculated credit scores to lenders. Equifax acknowledged reporting inaccurate credit scores, but insisted

6460-574: Was CVE - 2017-5638 ; the hackers managed to stay in Equifax's systems undetected for approximately 134   days. In March 2018, the Security and Exchange Commission accused Jun Ying, Equifax's former CIO , of illicit insider trading, by selling company stock before the breach was publicly disclosed. After an investigation by the FBI , Ying pleaded guilty, was sentenced to four months of prison plus

6545-881: Was announced Equifax had acquired the Barueri -headquartered credit bureau, Boa Vista Serviços for $ 596 million, starting to trade on the B3 in São Paulo , under the symbol EFXB31. Equifax primarily operates in the business-to-business sector, selling consumer credit and insurance reports and related analytics to businesses in a range of industries. Business customers include retailers , insurance firms, healthcare providers , utilities, government agencies, as well as banks , credit unions , personal and specialty finance companies and other financial institutions. Equifax sells businesses credit reports, analytics, demographic data, and software. Credit reports provide detailed information on

6630-425: Was charged with rewarding its employees for collecting negative information on consumers in the 1970s. There was a consent decree. In 1975 the company changed its name to "Equifax"—reportedly to counteract its tarnished reputation. The company has been fined by the Federal Trade Commission on two occasions for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"). In 2000, Equifax, along with Experian and TransUnion,

6715-437: Was denied credit, and her private information was given to businesses Miller had no relationship with. The jury's verdict is believed to be the largest award in an individual case under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. An Equifax spokesperson said that Equifax is considering appealing the jury's verdict. A federal judge reduced the award to $ 1.62 million in 2014. In 2014, Equifax and Heartland Bank were sued by Kimberly Haman of

6800-556: Was fined $ 2.5 million for blocking and delaying phone calls from consumers trying to get information about their credit. In 2003, the FTC took Equifax to court for the same reason and settled its lawsuit with the company for a fine of $ 250,000. In July 2013, a federal jury in Oregon awarded $ 18.6 million to Julie Miller of Marion County against Equifax for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In her lawsuit, Miller alleged Equifax had merged her credit reports with another person with

6885-679: Was originally formed in 1968 as a holding company for Union Tank Car Company , making TransUnion a descendant of Standard Oil through Union Tank Car Company. The following year, it acquired the Credit Bureau of Cook County, which possessed and maintained 3.6 million credit accounts. In 1981, a Chicago-based holding company, The Marmon Group , acquired TransUnion for approximately $ 688 million. In 2010, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Advent International acquired it from Madison Dearborn Partners . In 2014, TransUnion acquired Hank Asher 's data company TLO. On June 25, 2015, TransUnion became

6970-587: Was rebranding its "thousands of existing B2B products into seven business lines." These include: TruAudience, TruValidate, TruContact (all based on former offerings from Neustar), TruVision, TruIQ, TruEmpower, and TruLookup. In 2003, Judy Thomas of Klamath Falls, Oregon , was awarded $ 5.3 million in a successful lawsuit against TransUnion. The award was made on the grounds that it took her six years to get TransUnion to remove incorrect information in her credit report. In 2006, after spending two years trying to correct erroneous credit information that resulted from being

7055-551: Was reported to have been offering visitors malware via drive-by download . The malware was disguised as an update for Adobe Flash . At that time, only 3 out of 65 top anti-malware products provided protection against the particular malware, meaning that many visitors were at risk of having their computers infected when visiting the Equifax website. On October 13, 2017, the attack was revealed to have been performed by hijacking third-party analytics JavaScript from Digital River brand FireClick. Also on October 13, 2017,

7140-416: Was reported to have been redirecting visitors to websites that attempted drive-by downloads of malware disguised as Adobe Flash updates. The attack had been performed by hijacking third-party analytics JavaScript from Digital River brand FireClick. On 17 March 2022, TransUnion South Africa disclosed that hackers breached one of their servers and allegedly stole data of 54 million customers, demanding

7225-499: Was sued in New York federal court by God Gazarov, who claimed the company erroneously reports him as having no credit history because of his unusual first name. Gazarov settled his lawsuit in May 2015, with Equifax agreeing to enter his name into their database. On November 4, 2017, it was reported that a group of five Oklahomans had sued the company, claiming that Equifax "violated laws which require financial institutions to protect

#822177