By Isaac Davis
As the world is pressed ever closer to a cashless society, individual control over one’s own wealth will become a thing of the past and our personal finances will be lorded over by government and the ‘official’ agencies contracted to manage our financial lives. The pieces are already in place, as is evidenced by the ubiquitousness of credit reporting agencies; and in this brave new world your credit score will be even more important than it is now.
Managed by a handful of private companies and based on secret scoring processes, credit reports can have a dramatic impact on the financial prospects and overall lives of individuals and organizations. But though credit rating plays a necessary role in the overall banking system, the industry’s approach to assessing creditworthiness can harm both consumers and lenders. [Source]
Today, you cannot rent a place to live without a credit report, and if you try to sign your children up for the local soccer team you might even find yourself having to authorize a full credit check which will consult one of several major credit reporting agencies who keep track of your financial well-being.
This layer of financial oversight is a fairly new construct in our world, as noted by Credit Karma.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which first sought to regulate the reporting of credit information, was only passed through Congress in 1970. Furthermore, the FICO score as we know it today wasn’t introduced until 1989.
It turns out, however, that some of these institutions are defrauding the American public, as revealed by an investigation led by The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which found that two of the major credit reporting agencies have been deceiving Americans about the fees they charge and about the reports they provide.
“…the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that two of the three major credit-reporting agencies responsible for doling out those scores—Equifax and Transunion—have been deceiving and taking advantage of Americans. The Bureau ordered the agencies to pay more than $23 million in fines and restitution.” [Source]
Furthermore, as explained by The Atlantic:
In their investigation, the Bureau found that the two agencies had been misrepresenting the scores provided to consumers, telling them that the score reports they received were the same reports that lenders and businesses received, when, in fact, they were not. The investigation also found problems with the way the agencies advertised their products, using promotions that suggested that their credit reports were either free or cost only $1. According to the CFPB the agencies did not properly disclose that after a trial of seven to 30 days, individuals would be enrolled in a full-price subscription, which could total $16 or more per month. The Bureau also found Equifax to be in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which states that the agencies must provide one free report every 12 months made available at a central site. Before viewing their free report, consumers were forced to view advertisements for Equifax, which is prohibited by law. [Source]
In short, these agencies are abusing their power for their own financial gain, which is typical of high-level government contracting agencies, and one of the best reasons to resist the global push for a cashless society based on regulated digital currencies and credit scores.
Much of an individual’s ability to improve his or her finances is predicated on his or her ability to maintain a high credit score. To do that, he or she needs to be able to see accurate credit reports that reflect the information that lenders see when they assess them. The actions of Equifax and Transunion prevented that. [Source]
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Isaac Davis is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com and OffgridOutpost.com Survival Tips blog. He is an outspoken advocate of liberty and of a voluntary society. He is an avid reader of history and passionate about becoming self-sufficient to break free of the control matrix. Follow him on Facebook, here.
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This article (Two Major Credit Reporting Agencies Have Been Deceiving Us – Is Your Credit Score a Scam?) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Isaac Davis and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.
I’m still hoping someone in alt will write about FICO apparently working towards creating China style Social Credit Score algorithms. A couple of years ago William Lansing, the CEO of FICO, told a reporter what people say online is fair game to be part of their credit scores. He gave the example of someone on social media using the term “wasted” (as in drunk) saying it had a strong correlation that person was a poor credit risk. To this end, FICO is developing new methods of calculating credit scores.
Also, Ebay/Paypal billionaire Pierre Omidyar, who is funding The Intercept, the new ADL Silicon Valley internet “anti hate speech” monitoring center, and the UN tied Better Than Cash Alliance (along with Gates and Ford foundations) that was behind India’s recent demonetization fiasco, is also funding Singapore based Lenddo which is creating Social Credit Score algorithms to be used around the world. Lenddo is also being funded by many of Facebook’s early investors. Looks like a plot to control everything we say, do, and think.
(A FICO Score is a type of ‘Credit Scoring’ created by the Fair Issac Corporation to access credit risk for eligibility of potential ‘borrowers’ to determine whether or not to extend credit)
When it becomes Social instead of simply “are you responsibly paying your bills” the self proclaimed masters of the universe will have their wet dream of controlling everything we say and do with continuous application of a carrot and stick situation. You criticized govt policy? That will cost you half of your ration of “energy credits” for the year. It’s already happening in China. Jack Ma loves it.
It gets even better. There is a new “FICO” score being developed to track your health & compliance with your doctor’s advice & prescriptions. This goes right along with the pill they want you to take that monitors your medications. It will be used to deny credit & insurance & so far there is no law that says we get to see or correct any errors or opt out of this.
Thanks for the tip. This is with FICO itself not another company? Google seems to be flushing the articles reporting on FICO’s new algorithms.
I noticed Donald Trump made a speech before he was elected in which he stated [young?] people need new ways to “build up their credit”.
What is this FICO health score you are referring to?
It is just like a credit score used to deny or give you a loan & determine the rate. FICO stands for Fair Isaac & Company which arbitrarily calculates our scores without consent. Don’t know if this specific company is behind the new health ratings scores[probably] which could be used to deny you insurance or being hired, but so far we are not going to be told our scores to know if they are bad or good. With irresponsible folks like Equifax your info could be hacked; and with medical records electronic it will be easy to obtain access. Read your HIPPA agreement. There is a long list of folks your doctor & hospital CAN share your info with without consent or with “implied” consent from signing it. It does not protect your privacy & clearly states that it may be used for studies & research etc. They are supposed to get a warrant before they turn over your info to LE; but most of the medical pros I know just hand it over. The only good thing the HIPPA does is give you the RIGHT to have any & all of your own medical records on demand; though they often charge plenty to print them up. I ALWAYS get copies of everything every time I go or have anything done for my records.
Thank you. I knew what FICO was but didn’t know there was a FICO score for health. That is so wrong.
I’m trying not to ever go the doctor except in an emergency. All they do is try to put you on a drug. I also know-becuase of my line of work-that PHARMA makes up diseases to sell drugs. Basically once they patent a molecule, they then research on how they can make money off of that molecule. Once they find a pathway in the body where the drug reacts in a positive way, they then basically invent a disease. They get some Harvard doctor to sign his/her name to some ghostwriter paper touting the success of the drug against the invented disease and then market the hell out of the drug. High Cholesterol is one such disease.
Absolutely . The psychiatrist that “discovered” ADD & ADHD admitted on his death bed that it was a made up disorder to market pharmaceuticals. After 28 years of studying toxicology and teaching these type of kids to ride horses I can tell you that most of them were Hg poisoned from mother’s who worked in dental offices while pregnant, gestated & nursed while having a mouth full of amalgams, & or vaccinated the full schedule of shots. At one point back in the 70s [before the term was coined] my entire early clientele was made up of wealthy psychiatrists kids [ my closest friend was married to one so she referred them] and four out of five of them were on meds because parents could not control them but could write scripts. Of course when I put them on a horse they HAD to pay attention or they would get hurt. I usually kept them on a lunge line with no stirrups or reins till they learned balance & focus so the horse was not abused either.Usually their meds were cut way back as I would not teach a drugged child. Eventually they would not only develop balance skills & focus but a sense of responsibility & achievement. Some even competed. Word spread fast & I had plenty of customers.
Awesome. Thanks for the info about ADD/ADHD. I love horses. They are so strong and powerful. They remind of God.
“if you try to sign your children up for the local soccer team you might even find yourself having to authorize a full credit check” – Why is this? Because they are turning your credit score into your SOCIAL credit score. It is called “Sesame credit” in China. Control through your credit score.
The whole idea is that your new credit score measures how obedient a slave you are. Do you visit web sites like this one? Do you belong to organizations that fight tyranny? Do you have friends who do? The better your score the more you can have access to jobs, getting into good schools, getting credit, etc. The worst your score the less access you have and if your score is bad enough you are an outcast.
In other words, to keep you in line EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that they can track will be used against you. Soon, if you aren’t a mindless conformist your life will be shut down. You won’t be able to go online, you won’t be able to work, your car which can be remotely shut off by the software they secretly put in it, your bank account will be frozen and you will be left destitute. Why do you think they want to get rid of cash? Welcome to the future if we don’t stop it.
very well said
I just recently figured out the credit score companies are a racket. 17 years ago I cleaned up my credit to buy some land and made it to the excellent category (barely). I’ve paid all bills on time. I recently looked at a free annual report. My score is now only rated as fair. WHY? On inquiry I was informed that it was because I have not opened any new line of credit and each inquiry done by those credit card companies sending unsolicited offers has slowly and inexorably dropped my score over the years. So, to keep a good credit score you have to keep getting more and more in debt. Hmmm………
They recently lowered my score over 100 points and I have not paid any bills late and it even says it right on the report, but still 100 points for what why, its a scam pretty soon nobody will have a good “score”
Credit is Debt in a Debt Based System. Good Credit just means they want to own a bigger part of you when their System eventually fails.
No debts = no money
Biggest scam ever when the US money was officially privatized in 1913 with the passage of the Federal Reserve Act.
Your credit profile is a blueprint of your activities, preferences, purchasing habits and other habits. They may know you better than you.
Nah. It is nothing but a half-assed banking to justify their bankster practices. One’s credit report has little to do with anything. I say it’s a joke. a bad joke on people who are honest, sincere but not wealthy.
I know many dishonest people who have excellent credit scores only because they know how to play the game.