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Comment by thepasswordis | Hacker News Reader

You could accomplish this by just never applying for credit of any kind, couldn't you? In this way, these agencies might have a file about somebody with your name, but it won't really be relevant to you in any way.

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Even if you never open a line of credit in your life, the contents of that record will still affect your ability to rent apartments, get jobs, and even have utilities in your name.

Also the lack of records will also impact those things

Until someone else applies for credit with your identity.

But if you never use credit, having your credit hurt by this wouldn’t matter.

Anytime you open an account at a financial institution for a savings, checking, or retirement account, they will get a credit report. Employers are increasingly requiring a credit report before handing out job offers. Every landlord is going to require a certain credit score before accepting your application.

You don't need worry about your credit if you use cash and store it in a coffee tin, couch surf, and work under the table.

Please tell me that's not actually possible?

Assuming someone knows your name, address, and SSN (something which isn't meant to be secret - the SSA even printed 'not for identification' on the cards for a while), they can apply for credit cards in your name as they often require no other form of identification. The U.S. doesn't have a national login system for identity verification or anything so there's not much that could be done here from the security aspect besides creating a federal credit beurau or a federal ID system (or if login.gov allowed third-party companies to use it).

That's kind of what identity theft is, and it is distressingly possible.

It is possible and it happens. This what ppl mean when they talk about identity theft.

Identity theft!

Bank fraud. :)

Obligatory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9ptA3Ya9E

Any query with an SSN/ITIN that doesn't exist will create a report for that number. Different names using the same SSN/ITIN are listed as aliases.

Credit reports are queried for many reasons, not only loans.

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