Episode 186 — Data Privacy and Credit Bureaus: How false data and algorithms hurt people

The United States has three major credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. How they score individuals has a major impact on their lives. Credit scores can raise interest rates to double what an excellent rating would produce and can result in inability to borrow or have a credit card. How the credit rating system works is hidden to most people. The Detective turns his spyglass to how the big three credit bureaus use false data, employ algorithms that inaccurately report credit risk, and invade personal privacy without consent. Using a real time example, Episode 186 explores how incorrect information is used by a credit bureau and how its algorithm and data sets wrongly assess a person's financial circumstances and report a false picture of the individual. This results in more than increased interest on loans. It creates a false profile of a person and exposes the individual to a misuse of private information that invades personal privacy without a person's consent or advance knowledge. Learn the inner workings of credit reporting and what individuals can do to protect their personal privacy and correct erroneous information spread by credit bureaus. The first 155 episodes of Data Privacy Detective can be found on the feed of the Frost Brown Todd Podcast. You can listen on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/3IrHUTg), Spotify (https://bit.ly/49XRU2k), or Soundcloud (https://bit.ly/3T8EWrw). Subscribe to the show on YouTube for a new video every week! https://www.youtube.com/@DataPrivacyDetective