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Yahoo Hacking Highlights Cyber Risk and Increasing Importance of Physical Gold

October 8, 2017

 Yahoo Hacking Highlights Cyber Risk and Increasing Importance of Physical Gold

– Yahoo admits every single one of 3 billion accounts hacked in 2013 data theft
– Equifax hacking and security breach exposes half of the U.S. population
– Some 143 million people vulnerable to identity theft
– Deloitte hack compromised sensitive emails and client data
– JP Morgan hacked and New York Fed hacked and robbed
– International hacking group steals $300 million
– Global digital banking  and financial system not secure

Hacking

Imagine there was a chemical disaster at a factory. The surrounding water and air supply are affected over hundreds of miles. Thousands of people, if not more, are affected.

There would be a national response. Governments would step in to ask why this had happened, how it was going to be dealt with and how it would be prevented.

More importantly, those affected would be notified with immediate effect. The responsible company would not set up a website inviting potential victims to log on with personal details in order to find out if and how badly they have been affected.

And if the company did do this then people and the government wouldn’t stand for it.

Imagine that another disaster happens a few months later, at another company. But it turns out the dangerous chemicals have been leaking into the environment for possibly the previous three months.

No-one knows the extent of the damage.

There would be uproar.

Yet there seems to be little reaction when the equivalent happens in the cyber world. Just this week, less than a month after the Equifax announcement, Yahoo have admitted all 3 billion accounts were compromised four years ago … four years ago …

This is just another example of repeated data breaches that have compromised the personal data and lives of billions of people.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Hackers Break Into Equifax – Big Time!

September 11, 2017

Hackers Break Into Equifax – Big Time!

Welcome to the reality of the Digital World and there are those in government who want to eliminate cash and force everyone into electronic deposits. Well the new data breach at credit bureau Equifax appears to have affected up to 143 million people. On top of that, Equifax has been slow to deal with the issue. This is reminiscent of the real Insider Trading from the 1930s when directors realized the company was bankrupt so they sold their stock before any announcement. Here we have the company’s chief financial officer and two other senior executives cashing in on almost $2 million of Equifax stock once they learned about the hack, according to Business Insider’s Mohammed Hadi and Bryan Logan.

The Equifax data breach may have really profound lasting effects . Because they may have access to your information on consumers’ credit reports, including their Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and driver’s license numbers, they could open credit accounts in consumers’ names. They then could file an income tax return and get a refund before you even file your taxes. The Federal Trade Commission warned consumers last Friday to file their taxes early — “as soon as you have the tax information you need, before a scammer can.”

The IRS doesn’t initiate any contact with taxpayers by email, text message or social-media channels requesting any information. If anyone is contacted, be very concerned and do not answer any questions or validate anything. Call an accountant ASAP.

Worst US Consumer Data Hack Ever? Equifax Confesses

September 8, 2017

Worst US Consumer Data Hack Ever? Equifax Confesses

Your data was likely stolen. Here’s what you can do to protect yourself even after the hack, and Equifax doesn’t want you to do it.

Equifax, as a consumer credit bureau, collects financial, credit, and other data on every US consumer. It has names, birth dates, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, mortgage data, and payment history data, including to utilities, wireless service providers, and the like. It collects data on bank balances, loan balances, credit card balances, credit card purchases, and myriad personal details. It has massive digital dossiers on every consumer in the US and in some other countries. And it sells this data to other companies, such as banks, credit card companies, car dealerships, retailers, and others, as a routine part of its business model. That’s how it makes money.

But when someone breaks in and steals this data without paying Equifax for it, well, that’s a huge deal. And it is.

Turns out, Equifax got hacked – um, no, not today. Today it disclosed that it had discovered on July 29 – six weeks ago – that it had been hacked sometime between “mid-May through July,” and that key data on 143 million US consumers was stolen. There was no need to notify consumers right away. They’re screwed anyway. But it gave executives enough time to sell 2 million shares between the discovery of the hack and today, when they crashed 13% in late trading.

Given the quantity and sensitivity of the stolen data, it may well be the biggest and worst breach in US history.

That stolen data “primarily includes”:

  • Names
  • Social Security numbers
  • Birth dates
  • Addresses
  • “In some instances,” driver’s license numbers.

In addition, the stolen data includes:

  • Credit card numbers of around 209,000 US consumers
  • “Certain dispute documents with personal identifying information” of around 182,000 US consumers.
  • “Limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Albertans have highest debt load in Canada, Equifax says

March 10, 2016

Albertans have highest debt load in Canada, Equifax says

Consumer debt delinquencies jump 25% in province, 17% in Calgary

Consumer debt in Alberta has jumped 17 per cent.

Consumer debt in Alberta has jumped 17 per cent. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Albertans have the highest average debt load in the country at more than $27,000, says Equifax Canada.

A study released this morning says consumer debt delinquencies in the province jumped 25 per cent over the same quarter last year.

But the nationwide delinquency rate didn’t change, and Equifax Canada says rates remain at historic lows.

“Despite the ups and downs of today’s economy we’re seeing that Canadians are generally able to manage debt and rein in spending when they have to,” Regina Malina, the senior director of decision insights at Equifax Canada, said in a release.

“It may be a surprise to some, but the fact is delinquency rates in the oil-producing provinces are still relatively low. Most people are still finding a way to pay back what they owe.”

Average provincial debt (excluding mortgages)

  • Ontario: $21,072
  • Quebec: $18,070
  • Nova Scotia: $21,709
  • New Brunswick: $22,107
  • PEI: $21,483
  • Newfoundland: $22,766
  • Alberta: $27,576 25
  • Manitoba: $17,913
  • Saskatchewan: $23,941
  • British Columbia: $23,040
  • Canada: $21,458 

Average debt in Calgary is $28,421 excluding mortgages, while Edmonton’s average debt is $26,479 compared to average consumer debt nationwide of $21,458.

The only age category to experience an increase in delinquency rates in the last quarter of 2015 was the under-26 group. The rate for that category rose 2.9 per cent.

“Debt is often used as a tool for consumers to accomplish their objectives. However, as people get older, their income earning capabilities generally trend downward,” Equifax said in a release. “To increase their financial security, Canadians should develop a plan to pay off their debt within a set timeframe.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Subprime Auto Loan Meltdown Is Here

February 25, 2016

The Subprime Auto Loan Meltdown Is Here

Debt Loans Auto Loans - Public DomainUh oh – here we go again.  Do you remember the subprime mortgage meltdown during the last financial crisis?  Well, now a similar thing is happening with auto loans.  The auto industry has been doing better than many other areas of the economy in recent years, but this “mini-boom” was fueled in large part by customers with subprime credit.  According to Equifax, an astounding 23.5 percent of all new auto loans were made to subprime borrowers in 2015.  At this point, there is a total of somewhere around $200 billion in subprime auto loans floating around out there, and many of these loans have been “repackaged” and sold to investors.  I know – all of this sounds a little too close for comfort to what happened with subprime mortgages the last time around.  We never seem to learn from our mistakes, and a lot of investors are going to end up paying the price.

Everything would be fine if the number of subprime borrowers not making their payments was extremely low.  And that was true for a while, but now delinquency rates and default rates are rising to levels that we haven’t seen since the last recession.  The following comes from Time Magazine…

People, especially those with shaky credit, are having a tougher time than usual making their car payments.

According to Bloomberg, almost 5% of subprime car loans that were bundled into securities and sold to investors are delinquent, and the default rate is even higher than that. (Depending on who’s counting, delinquency is up to three or four months behind in payments; default is what happens after that). At just over 12% in January, the default rate jumped one entire percentage point in just a month. Both delinquency and default rates are now the highest they’ve been since 2010, when the ripple effects of the recession still weighed heavily on many Americans’ finances.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Unnerving Thing Wells Fargo Just Said About the Auto Boom

March 3, 2015

The Unnerving Thing Wells Fargo Just Said About the Auto Boom

American consumers are borrowing like never before to buy cars. It has been the reason why the US auto industry is intoxicated with its own exuberance. Last year, 16.5 million new vehicles were sold. This year, the industry hopes to breach the sound barrier of 17 million, or even 17.5 million. The industry is already dreaming about new all-time highs.

The growth is funded with borrowed money. Total auto loan balances outstanding grew 9.3% year over year to $975 billion at the end of December, an all-time high, according to Equifax. These balances will likely exceed the $1-trillion mark soon.

Auto lending to subprime customers – people with credit scores below 640 – has been particularly booming. Through October last year, 27.4% of all auto loan balances and 31% of the total number of auto loans were to subprime borrowers. Banks and subprime-focused specialty lenders convert these loans into structures securities, many of which carry triple-A ratings. They’re are selling like hot cakes, as bond fund managers gobble them up to create some yield in a world where central banks have expunged yield.

But bank regulators are warning about the auto lending spree. They’re worried about the ballooning loan-to-value ratios where the loan exceeds the “value” of the car by large amounts. Given that a car loses a lot of value the moment it drives off the dealer lot and continues to lose value, high LTV ratios raise the losses for lenders if the car is repossessed. But high LTV ratios also make the car expensive to finance. To keep payments down, loans are stretched to ludicrously long terms. And bank regulators are worried that these risky loans are made precisely to the riskiest customers.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

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