Ravenwood - 02/23/05 06:15 AM
There is a big kerfuffle over a security breach at Choice Point. It seems that identity thieves have gained access to thousands of records containing personal information like social security numbers, credit scores, and the like.
So just what is Choice Point, and why do they have all this personal information? Why do we, as a society, allow our personal information to be gathered and collected by companies like this? My gut reaction was that companies like Choice Point should be prevented from collecting personal information in the first place. I wouldn't make what they do illegal, but perhaps we should do more to make all those public records private. But then I started looking into just who this Choice Point company is.
Well, they are a data mining company that was spun off from Equifax. Basically, they drum up public data from public records and sources and build profiles of consumers. Choice Point "has grown from the nation's premier source of data to the insurance industry into the premier provider of decision-making intelligence to businesses and government."
Okay, so what does all that mean? Well, whenever you go to get insurance, they are the ones who provide background information to the underwriters. When you apply for that Macy's card to get 10% off, companies like Choice Point are the ones that provide the information used to grant you instant credit. When you apply for a job, they give your new employer a relative peace of mind that you aren't going to embezzle funds or sell secrets to China.
Basically, they are in the risk mitigation business. Without them, you wouldn't have 0% financing deals at car dealerships, and cell phones given out to every member of the family without a deposit. Without them, prospective employers might be much less likely to hire you. They are part of the backbone to the entire credit/background/pre-employment screening process.
It's easy to divine a "right to privacy" and to say that we should prohibit companies like Choice Point from collecting personal information. But keep in mind there is a price to be paid. When your kid goes off to college and you're unable to get them a cell phone so that they can call home; when it takes you just as long to close the deal on your car as it does your house; or when it takes prospective employers three weeks instead of two days to make you an offer; you might just reconsider.
Considering the fact that I do not receive any of the perks from my information being collected by them, I would like the option of banning them from collecting my personal info.
I have:
No credit card
Steady Job I got on my own
No loans
No Checkbook
Granted, I would bet the law enforcement agency may do a credit check on me, but that would be secondary compared to my background check, psych tests, lie detector test, oral and written interview, and references to family, friends, and law enforcement sources.
Posted by: Rhett at February 23, 2005 11:30 AM"Without them, prospective employers might be much less likely to hire you." I appreciate the point you are making, but without choicepoint I would still be on equal footing with the next guy. I have no problem with them "mining" data. After all, I agree to the privacy practices of companies I do business with by signing their form. Fine. But this fiasco is the government's fault in my opinion. They are the source of the SSN, and that is what got this whole thing rolling.
Posted by: corncob at February 23, 2005 2:16 PMI'm in the mortgage business. I sell loans to people for houses. I know first-hand what these type of companies do. It's because of these companies that someone's character is no longer taken into account when evaluating a loan approval. If you hit hard times because of uncontrollable situations 6 to 10 years ago and defaulted on your house, tough crap. It doesn't matter if your best friend is the owner of the bank and knows your character, you're not getting a loan this decade pal. That formulated number that gets spit back to the bank telling them the "risk factor" of loaning money to you makes it impossible for the bank to sell that loan if they did loan it to you. You're just plain out of luck.
Posted by: Dan Newbanks at February 23, 2005 4:40 PMWhat's more, the more inefficient the process, the more people there are that default on loans. And the more loan defaults makes it more expensive for everyone.
Posted by: Ravenwood at February 23, 2005 4:53 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
