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Have you ever been called "paranoid" by friends or family? Why, just because you think the Credit Reporting Agencies are out to get you? Well, they're not out to get you…they're out to spy on you.

What do we mean? First consider the business model of the original Credit Reporting Agency, an idea dating back to the turn of the 19th century. The very first credit-reporting agency was less of a database than it was a detective agency that sold private and very often times personal information to essentially anyone who was willing to pay for it. This led to some heavy criticisms of credit bureaus in the 1960s and 1970s, because these databases did not merely contain credit history, but also statistics, inaccuracies, unfounded rumors and hearsay about all sorts of personal data: who a person was, their marital problems, their job, their educational history, their childhood years, their sexual lifestyles and their political leanings. In fact, the early credit bureaus even rewarded their employees for finding any "dirt" they could sell to third parties.

A lot has changed since the early 1900s, obviously. Now, credit-reporting agencies are restricted by such laws as the Fair Credit Reporting Act. However, these companies still have access to your personal information. These agencies get their information from many commercial vendors and other organizations and will use the information for various purposes. These resources include creditors, utilities, debt collection groups and courthouses that the subject has dealt with.

These companies will have access to consumers' financial data as compiled by data furnishers with personal experience in dealing with said accounts. This information will be made available to most customers of the credit bureau by request. Officially, the reason why companies will wish to review this information will be for credit assessment, credit scoring, apartment or home leasing and employment consideration.

Credit reports consist not only of financial history and credit score, but also name, address, phone, marital status, residence, employment and any other identifying information.
Credit headers (the non-financial part of the report) are often purchased by private third party vendors who will then sell the information to private investigators or individual citizens.

However, this gives credit bureaus the right to share potentially discriminating information about your life and finances with any business that requests it. For example, some of this information can be used to deny a person a home lease, deny a vehicle, or deny a loan. Not only do credit reports include all bankruptcies, charge off accounts, late fees and civil judgments; they also reveal physical contact information for consumers. Because these bureaus give out so much important information on a regular basis, it has led many groups to question how fair the credit system is, especially since consumers can be legally discriminated against based on "risk" or "creditworthiness."

Furthermore, credit reports can also contain factual errors that can compromise a person's reputation and financial stability. The communications process between consumer and credit agency is lacking, which explains why the federal government had to fine one of the top credit bureaus a few years ago for knowingly postponing or ignoring consumer complaints regarding erroneous credit reports.

It does seem as if intrusive credit reporting agencies spy on consumers and take advantage of their credit report. This emphasizes the importance of staying in contact with the credit bureaus and checking your report regularly.

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