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Petition to Congress:
"Crack down on the out-of-control credit reporting agencies like Equifax that put Americans’ personal data at risk. Support the Data Breach Prevention and Compensation Act, which would install new safeguards and mandatory penalties, and the Freedom from Equifax Exploitation (FREE) Act, which would protect people and give them more power over their information."
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The Equifax breach was even worse than we thought. The company recently announced that hackers accessed more of Americans’ personal information than previously revealed.1
Equifax’s disclosure comes on the heels of a scathing new report from Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The report reveals the credit reporting company’s failures before, during and after the breach – including attempting to profit off the disaster. The damning indictment arrives even as Trump’s hand-picked head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney, is sabotaging his own agency’s effort to punish Equifax.2
“We’re unveiling this report while Mick Mulvaney is killing the consumer agency’s probe into the Equifax breach,” Sen. Warren said. She warned that if we do not act, Equifax is “going to wiggle off the hook.”3
Sen. Warren has introduced legislation to crack down on credit reporting companies like Equifax, impose mandatory penalties and protect Americans’ personal data. Now, she needs our help.
Under Sen. Warren’s new bill, Equifax would have paid at least $1.5 billion in penalties for putting 145 million Americans’ personal information at risk. Instead, the company may end up making money off the breach. Equifax waited more than a month to tell the public after discovering the data breach, during which time a number of executives sold their company stock.4
When Equifax finally did come clean, they did so with a website that security experts described as “sketchy” and reportedly provided “inconsistent and unhelpful information to many.”5 In recent weeks, we learned that the stolen private data in some cases included phone numbers, email addresses and driver’s license information.
Sen. Warren’s new bill would install important protections and mandatory penalties. It would establish an office of cybersecurity at the Federal Trade Commission, mandate financial compensation for victims and impose mandatory penalties for allowing hackers to access private information.6 Along with Sen. Warren’s previous bill, the Freedom from Equifax Exploitation (FREE) Act, which would give people more control over their private data, it would be a massive step to reining in the out-of-control credit reporting agencies.
Credit companies make billions of dollars by collecting and selling our private information – like Social Security numbers, birth dates, credit card numbers and driver’s license information – with minimal oversight and zero consent. Then, they charge people to freeze or access their credit reports.7
It was not that long ago that credit bureaus would investigate your political leanings, sexuality, medical conditions, drinking habits and more to determine your “creditworthiness.” Being a person of color, a single woman or gay could hurt your credit score. During World War II, credit companies ran loyalty checks on behalf of the military. With technological advancements, computerized systems now vacuum up as much data on you as possible. From the beginning, credit bureaus have been an under-regulated, invasive corporate force helping to keep access to credit – and thus financial well-being – in the hands of the few.8
It is long past time to crack down on the credit reporting agencies like Equifax. Sen. Warren is leading the charge, and she needs our help.
Stand with Sen. Warren: Crack down on credit reporting companies like Equifax. Click below to sign the petition:
- Murshed Zaheed, CREDO Action
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Friday, February 16, 2018
Stand with Sen. Warren: Crack down on credit reporting companies like Equifax
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