Fraud

“Contractor licensing and home remodeling is kind of like the Wild West,” said Adam G.

Credit bureaus have reportedly returned to the practice of “trigger listing,” used extensively in the lead up to the 2008 housing market-crisis. Consumer advocate, Ed Mierzwinski, describes the process as follows: When a consumer applies for a loan to purchase property, the credit bureaus alert potential lenders to the transaction; those competitors, which Mierzwinski notes are often the industry’s “bottom feeders,” reach out to the home buyer, claiming to offer a better rate. The problem, according to Mierzwinski, is that this situation breeds deceptive practices, as homebuyers are put under pressure to complete the transaction.

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Like it or not, the holidays are upon us. It's important to make sure your year-end shopping spree isn't spoiled by cybersecurity threats, hackers or scammers. 

Contact us immediately if you discover any unfamiliar entries on your credit report and suspect your identity has been stolen. We represent consumers on contingency to obtain a permanently corrected report and, in many cases, compensation for violations of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

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It was déjà vu for Wells Fargo, this week, as senators expressed outrage at the bank’s culture of shady practices. Last year, senators berated (former-CEO) John Stumpf over the millions of fake accounts created in customers’ names. Stumpf’s replacement, Tim Sloan, took the brunt of congressional ire on Tuesday, with Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii going as far as to call for the revocation of Wells Fargo’s charter. Wells Fargo is currently under investigation by the US Dep’t of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the US Dep’t of Labor.

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In response to the July data-breach, Equifax has offered their Trusted ID Premier service in exchange for consumers' right to sue Equifax. Industry watchdogs suggest cause for concern regarding Equifax’s terms. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that consumers’ vital data may have been stolen within minutes of the breach, and Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com, suggests that the information obtained by thieves may be utilized long after the period offered by Equifax to monitor credit reports under the agreement expires.

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A federal judge granted preliminary approval over the weekend for Wells Fargo's $142 million national class action settlement. The court ruled that the settlement, which covers fake accounts back to 2002, "fair, reasonable and adequate."

 Victims may still have to wait before they get paid. The bank and lawyers for the plaintiffs plan to reach out to customers in the next three months, but the settlement may not be final until early 2018. Still, Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan called the court ruling a "major milestone in our efforts to make things right for our customers.
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Tens of thousands of ransomware attacks are targeting organizations around the world on Friday. Cybersecurity firm Avast said it has tracked more than 75,000 attacks in 99 countries. It said the majority of the attacks targeted Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan.

 The ransomware locks down all the files on an infected computer and asks the computer's administrator to pay in order to regain control of them. "Affected machines have six hours to pay up and every few hours the ransom goes up," said Kurt Baumgartner, the principal security researcher at security firm Kaspersky Lab.

Wells Fargo has reached a $110 million preliminary settlement to compensate all customers who claim the scandal-ridden bank opened fake accounts and other products in their name.

It's the first class action settlement by Wells Fargo since authorities revealed in September that the bank opened up to 2 million fake accounts to meet unrealistic sales targets that have since been eliminated.

Wells Fargo said on Tuesday the payments to customers will be in addition to refunds the bank has already paid out.

The settlement is expected to cover several lawsuits: including one filed in May 2015 in the Northern District of California, a separate one launched last September by customers, as well as 10 others. Wells Fargo's $110 million settlement marks a reversal from just a few months ago when it tried to kill a fake account lawsuit by forcing victims to resolve their claims quietly in closed-door arbitration instead of open court.
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