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Friend,
When Equifax botched millions of Americans' credit scores earlier this year, the company downplayed the mistake. The data of millions of consumers was compromised.1
And when addressing the problem, Equifax's CEO said "we think the impact is going to be quite small, not something that's meaningful to Equifax."2
The credit bureaus can get away with messing up our credit scores, leaving our personal data vulnerable to hackers and so much more.
This can't keep happening. That's why we need Congress to hold Equifax and all the credit bureaus accountable for mishandling our data.
Tell Congress: Hold Equifax accountable for harming consumers.
As consumers, we rely on credit scores for major life milestones, from purchasing a car or a home to starting a business. And a small "glitch" on Equifax's part can make our credit scores inaccurate and have serious ripple effects for our financial wellbeing.
A faulty credit score could mean the difference between being approved or denied for a loan, mortgage or credit card. Our personal data is important and we should be able to trust that it is accurate.
Congress can act to protect consumers. It should require the credit bureaus to take data accuracy seriously by requiring them to pay hefty fines when they put people's credit at risk.
Under current law, the big three national credit bureaus can get away with a lot without consequences. But if Congress acts, we can impose hefty fines when these credit bureaus put consumers at risk. Without those penalties, there's little incentive for Equifax and others to do anything differently.
In 2017, Equifax announced one of the worst data breaches in history, which compromised the personal information of nearly 150 million Americans.3
By exposing everything from social security numbers and birthdates to credit card numbers and driver's license numbers, Equifax put consumers at risk of several types of identity theft and fraud. And their response was inadequate, misleading consumers and failing to provide them full protection.4
We also need Congress to make sure that the credit bureaus notify consumers when these problems occur. After the 2017 data breach, Equifax failed to notify the public for at least six weeks. If a company violates consumer protection laws, it should be required to notify anyone harmed by the problem.5
Thank you,
Faye Park
President
1. Andrew Ackerman and AnnaMaria Andriotis, "Equifax Sent Lenders Inaccurate Credit Scores on Millions of Consumers," Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2022.
2. Irina Ivanova, "Equifax sued over erroneous credit scores sent for "millions" of Americans," CBS New, August 4, 2022.
3. Mike Litt and Ethan Lutz, "Equifax Breach: One Year Later," PIRG, September 6, 2018.
4. Mike Litt and Ethan Lutz, "Equifax Breach: One Year Later," PIRG, September 6, 2018.
5. Mike Litt and Ethan Lutz, "Equifax Breach: One Year Later," PIRG, September 6, 2018.
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