When Someone Else’s Credit History Shows Up as Yours If you’ve ever checked your credit report and spotted accounts you don’t recognize, addresses you’ve never lived at, or personal information that doesn’t belong to you, there’s a chance your file has been combined with someone else’s. This isn’t always identity theft. It’s often something called […]
Category Archives: Mixed Case File
While many parents will get a Social Security Number for their child, it may be many years before the child uses their identification for financial purposes (e.g., opening a bank account). In the intervening time, the dormancy of children’s information makes kids an ideal target for identity thieves. The children’s underlying data is real, but […]
The traditions and symbolism behind Vietnamese names are profoundly meaningful, while individuals’ personal names are often beautiful and inspiring. But having a Vietnamese name in the United States can pose a unique challenge when it comes to someone’s financial security. Let’s explore why this is an issue and what you can do to protect yourself. […]
While those with Arabic names may be used to having people make mistakes in addressing them (e.g., thinking that “bin” or “ben” is someone’s first or middle name), these errors can be more than a mild annoyance if they are on someone’s credit report. When that happens, it can have real consequences on their financial […]
Mexican-Americans are proud of their outstanding heritage and vibrant culture. They are also proud of their lineage and often have two surnames that reflect their ancestry. Many use their father’s and mother’s family names as their surnames. For example, a man may go by Gilberto Lopez Garcia, or a woman may be called Maria Gonzalez […]
William Shakespeare famously wrote, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But, for many of us, names are important since they give us our identity. Especially our last names. Surnames are a source of pride since they link us to our families and ethnic […]
Credit Bureaus are the worst. That isn’t just hyperbole. That’s the finding from a new U.S. PIRG Education Fund analysis. Confirming what you already knew, PIRG reviewed complaints made to U.S. financial firms—regarding everything from student loans to credit cards. And PIRG concluded that the “Big 3” credit bureaus received more complaints than any other […]
In March 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced an order against Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA), one of the nation’s largest debt collection agencies. In our previous post, we addressed how PRA had violated a previous order and provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In this post, we’ll explore how this order affects impacted […]
In March 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it was ordering Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) to pay millions to consumers. The Bureau stated that PRA had been engaging in numerous violations of law. And what made the order even more surprising is that PRA had already been fined in 2015 for other violations—so […]