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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."
Add your name:
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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
Add your name:
References:
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Showing posts with label Equifax data breach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Equifax data breach. Show all posts
Friday, February 16, 2018
Stand with Sen. Warren: Crack down on credit reporting companies like Equifax
Friday, October 6, 2017
Sign the petition calling on Equifax to take the right steps in the wake of the breach.
Equifax: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Equifax’s data breach compromised personal data for nearly half of all U.S. adults — over 145 million people! Millions are now at risk for identity theft. In the wake of this crisis, it’s critical that Equifax takes the correct steps to help make things right for all of the consumers affected.
Consumers Union members have already collected more than 134,812 signatures on our petition to Equifax asking them to do right by consumers in danger. To date, Equifax’s response to these requests has been negligible.
Congress is holding hearings to investigate the breach, and we delivered a letter detailing the steps Congress can take to protect consumers. But, there are many issues Equifax should voluntarily address right now.
We’re planning to deliver the petition below to Equifax very soon, and we want to give everyone who hasn’t signed an opportunity to add their name. It’s clear this crisis has struck a chord with the American people, and it’s important for us to have as many signatures as possible.
Petition to Equifax
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1. Pay for credit freezes. Offer free credit freezes to consumers for a longer period of time to mitigate the potential for identity theft.
2. Extend credit monitoring for affected consumers. Equifax is offering one free year of monitoring. They should bump that to an indefinite service for consumers who are at high risk of identity theft due to the breach.
3. Provide more detailed information about what happened. We need to know exactly what data was exposed and how, so that consumers can make informed choices about their next steps.
4. Remove all mandatory arbitration clauses. It's unacceptable for Equifax to try to insulate itself from class-action lawsuits during this crisis. The company should remove all mentions of forced arbitration from their terms and agreements.
5. Hire and train staff who can review and process customer complaints promptly. Given the volume of leaked data, many customers and consumers will be contacting Equifax with problems. The company should hire and train staff to process these inquiries more rapidly.
6. Set aside a fund to compensate consumers whose data was exposed. Equifax has an obligation to American consumers to compensate them for the injury they may incur for years to come.
7. Investigate allegations of insider trading. News reports indicate that senior Equifax executives sold major amounts of stock before telling the public about the breach. Equifax should immediately preserve all documents and commit to an independent investigation of the possibility of insider trading.
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- Tim Marvin
Consumers Union, Policy and Action from Consumer Reports
Consumers Union, Policy and Action from Consumer Reports
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