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Today I’ve been reading sensational and very misleading headlines saying things like “Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service” and “Experian Duped into Selling Social Security Nos.” Let me share with you the actual – and factual – events that led to the investigation and subsequent arrest of the suspect in the case surrounding Court Ventures and US Info Search. The suspect in this case obtained access to US Info Search data through Court Ventures prior to the time Experian acquired the company. To be clear, no Experian database was accessed. Experian acquired Court Ventures in March, 2012 because of its national public records database. After the acquisition, the US Secret Service notified Experian that Court Ventures had been and was reselling data from US Info Search to a third party that the US Secret Service was investigating as possibly engaged in illegal activity. Following the notice by the US Secret Service, Experian discontinued reselling US Info Search data and worked closely and in full cooperation with law enforcement to bring Vietnamese national Hieu Minh Ngo, the alleged perpetrator, to justice. Because of the ongoing federal investigation, we are not free to say anything further at this time.

This guest post is from Rod Ebrahimi, CEO of ReadyForZero At ReadyForZero, our focus has always been on helping people pay off debt and take control of their finances so they can begin building wealth. It’s a mission that has inspired us since our very first user. We started out very small, when I helped my girlfriend make a spreadsheet to organize her student loans. After that, my co-founder Ignacio Thayer and I realized that many of our friends and loved ones had debt. We decided it was our challenge to create a tool that would help them. Focusing on this mission has helped us create the best debt management tool in the industry. Our users are regular people all across the U.S. who are tired of being burdened by their debt and ready to become debt free. Many of our users have expressed interest in being able to monitor their improving credit score as they gradually pay down debt. This is one of the main reasons why we are very excited to now feature the VantageScore 3.0 as an important part of our debt management tool. As a new, integral part of ReadyForZero, the VantageScore will help people better understand their current financial standing and learn how their credit affects many other aspects of their financial life. With the VantageScore, ReadyForZero becomes the first site that combines credit information, real-time account data, bill payments and personalized financial offerings to reduce debt and build wealth. This combination and the fact that our tool is accessible from anywhere via our mobile app demonstrate the powerful momentum our team has created. We strive to be the most actionable, intuitive, and reputable resource for regular Americans to take control of their financial destiny. Now that we’re able to show users their VantageScore through our new partnership with Experian, we’re getting lots of positive feedback. For example, Michael DiCillo, a ReadyForZero user from Ohio said, “the addition of my VantageScore credit score provides me with greater control over my financial health.” We’re overjoyed that ReadyForZero’s debt reduction tool will provide a 360-degree view of a person’s finances so that an individual can make informed decisions about how to accomplish specific goals like paying off debt, improving credit, and building wealth. No matter what their credit score may be, having the ability to see the VantageScore will help ReadyForZero users stay motivated and informed on a monthly basis. Just as ReadyForZero’s debt repayment graphs and personalized reminders inspire people to make more progress paying off debt, the VantageScore and accompanying credit score graph will serve as inspiration for continuing to stay on track. Since the VantageScore model is easy to understand and includes an explanation of not only a person’s credit score but also the factors that affect the score, it will provide a unique value to our users. We want everyone to be able to see credit scores as more than an abstract number and to know why their credit score increases, decreases, or remains at its current level. Education is a big part of our mission — we have become recognized as an authoritative voice on finance and have recently launched resource centers focused on topics like Mortgages, Credit Scores, and Relationships and Money, which are intended to give people the kind of trustworthy information they need when getting serious about pursuing their financial goals. Moving forward, all of us at ReadyForZero will continue to focus on helping people pay off debt and take control of their finances. Our partnership with Experian and the inclusion of the VantageScore in our debt reduction tool will be a big part of that.

Underscoring Experian’s goal to help consumers and be an advocate for credit education, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) last week awarded Victor Nichols, CEO of Experian North America its “Making the Difference” award from at their Annual Leaders Conference in Denver. This prestigious award is presented to organizations that have made significant contributions to assisting consumers with financial literacy, awareness and education, furthering the NFCC’s mission, visions and programs through a national presence. Mr. Nichols attended the conference to accept the award and to speak to the attendees about Experian’s vision and commitment to financial literacy and consumer empowerment. “I am proud that Experian was recognized for the second year in a row with this award, and I commend our team for their involvement and dedication in making a positive difference in consumers’ financial lives,” said Nichols. “We understand what an impact education has in helping consumers manage their financial lives, and we will continue to make financial literacy a priority along with our commitment to always put the consumer first.” In presenting Mr. Nichols the award, Gail Cunningham, vice president of membership and public relations at the NFCC, commented:  “The NFCC is pleased to honor Experian’s Victor Nichols with the 2013 Making the Difference Partner award and to acknowledge the strength and power that our relationship provides to consumers. Experian’s commitment to consumer education aligns with the NFCC’s mission of creating a national culture of financial responsibility, making Experian an obvious choice for this award.” Also, representing Experian at the conference this year was Maxine Sweet, vice president of public education and last year’s Making the Difference award recipient, along with Rod Griffin, director of public education.  The two experts hosted the “Being a Credit Ambassador” workshop at the conference for NFCC educators and counselors. The session included an in-depth look at how to guide consumers in building and restoring their credit, fraud prevention and learning to manage their credit and debt. Read more about the award and the conference here.