What? How Does This Happen?
Credit Bureaus are in the business of Big Data.
They profit when they charge you for a credit report.
Then they profit again when they sell your personal data as a "Trigger Lead".
The selling of your information results in an onslaught of lenders calling you and sending you text messages.
Some of those lenders may not have your best interests in mind.
What can I do to prevent this?
The first step is awareness. Understanding how your data is bought and sold without your direct knowledge is important!
Yet more important is how to prevent your data from being sold. Here are some tips:
Ensure that your phone numbers are listed on the "Do Not Call List". This prevents unwanted sales calls from any industry. To do so, visit the official Federal Trade Commission website for more details.
Getting any kind of loan can also trigger unsolicited mail. You can remove your data from these mailing lists by visiting the DMAChoice website.
If you do receive unsolicited calls, you can choose whether or not to ignore them. No one requires you to call someone back nor answer their text messages.
