When Axton Betz-Hamilton set up her first utility bill at college, she soon realized something was very, very wrong.
It turned out she’d been a victim of identity theft—and it had destroyed her credit rating.
In 2001, when she was a 19-year-old student, Betz-Hamilton’s new utility provider demanded a $100 security deposit to turn on her service, citing her credit score.
“I thought it was because I didn’t have enough credit,” she told Fortune. But when a copy of her credit report turned up in her mailbox six weeks later, she learned the opposite was true.
Hey now. Adults have been borrowing against their children’s futures for generations. It’s something of an American tradition at this point.
Maybe that is connected to each subsequent generation having less wealth, lower life expectancy, lower standard of living and generally being more miserable than the previous…
Nah I’m sure it’s just coincidence.
Sure, if by “each subsequent generation” you mean millennials. Historically the trend in the US has always been the opposite; most people could count on being better off than their parents.
There are already two new generations since millenials. I’m a millennial and I’m almost 40.
AnnualCreditReport.com is free to get your credit report from all bureaus.
All bureaus allow you to freeze your credit when it is not in use.
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Easily fixed, report as fraud, dispute and gets removed from credit repont
Yup. Thanks Mom.
I suspect this was done to me. I found out my SS and name was used for various utilities related things back when I was a young child. When asked, my parents insisted some OTHER family members must have done it, and they never answered how the hell other family members got my SS when my parents are typically super secretive and protective of info like that.
I still don’t believe them.
So now the youth are being screwed over by their own parents. Cool. Coolcoolcoolcoolcool.
Is this another unprecedented, once in a millennia event too? Just like the previous five or six atrocities?
Anyone else want to fuck up the zoomers while we’re at it?
I mean this has been going on since at least the 90’s.
Don’t remind me.
The 90’s were pretty wild in terms of what was considered “normal” or “okay”.
Why would any child need to take out a bank loan anyway? I feel like this is an easy fix by setting an age limit.
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Well this is new… article is blurred and unreadable and doesn’t even offer a paywall pop-up.
Please freeze your credit file at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It’s free and you can unfreeze it anytime you want (or whenever you judge its a valid credit check for something you actually requested yourself).
Whether you have a low/medium/good/perfect credit score and are satified with the credit cards and mortgage/loans you already have or lived without ever having a credit card and loans, it is of utmost importance to freeze your credit files to preempt any future identity theft from becoming a life upending disaster.
Some helpful links:
American Express | How to Freeze Your Credit at All 3 Bureaus—For Free
Federal Trade Commission | What To Know About Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
For the fellow Canadians reading this, freezing your credit file has been enshrined in law in Québec since February 2023. I have frozen mine on the first week of February. However, I am unaware of the availability of that option in other provinces, please check with your bank or provincial service bureau (equivalent to Services Québec here) or directly contact Equifax and TransUnion.
20 years ago I worked as a bill collector. The company I worked for would buy out the accounts that the primary company felt they couldn’t collect on and have basically given up. So we’d buy your debt (at a steep discount) and then try to collect from you.
It disappointed me the number of parents I talked to who not only committed fraud on their own kids but legit did not care, zero remorse. Some of them would even laugh at me and say “well they’re only three so what are you going to do!?”.
I felt so bad for the kids. Those are the kids that are entering college and the workforce right now.
Paywalled
that’s fucked
And this is news how?
