More on the Equifax Hacking

If you missed the radio show today here’s a link to the live broadcast:

https://www.facebook.com/jphilipfaranda/posts/10155590299171702

Guest Paul Oster was brilliant and informative, and I have some takeaways.

But first, you should know that while we were broadcasting live, Equifax was hacked AGAIN.

My observations:

• Equifax was warned that there was a vulnerability. They didn’t take the steps to remedy it before the big data dump.
• Unless you live off the grid, you were affected. No ifs, ands, or buts.
• There is nothing you can do about this to make your data airtight, and the least help is from Equifax themselves despite their offers.
• This will have consequences that outlive us all.
• Equifax has the unmitigated gall to monetize this. Anyone who registers on their site, creates an ID protection account or takes their free offer of ID protection becomes part of their marketing database.
• The executives who sold their company stock in the months before this became public are criminals in my opinion.

Here’s my biggest takeaway: Equifax should no longer be considered a reliable credit reporting source for financial institutions from this event forward.

I’ll repeat that: Equifax should no longer be used to rate consumer credit. They have lost their credibility. They had one job and they screwed the pooch. Conventional mortgages require a tri-merged credit report from the three major bureaus: Experian, Transunion, and Equifax. The report should be a bi-merged report without Equifax or they should be replaced by another bureau. Too much is at stake to allow them to have any connection to the underwriting of mortgage applicants. We deserve better.