Equifax selling private information to debt collectors
US retail sales rose in nearly every category in March boosting hopes of a speedier-than-expected recovery.
Equifax, one of the nation's largest credit reporting agencies, has accumulated the salary and employment records of more than one-third of US adults, in one of the most expansive private databases of information, NBC News reported.
Some of this information is being sold to debt collectors, financial service companies and other organizations, NBC reported.
The worst part? Equifax doesn't need to notify the individual whose information is being sold, and the entire thing is legal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
According to the Huffington Post, Equifax gets the information from US businesses, and then hands it to one of its subsidiaries, The Work Number.
Chi Chi Wu, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, told the Huffington Post that if consumers are bothered by these practices, their best course of action is to let Congress know.