| 'Security Risk' Blocks U.S. Troops Overseas from Free Credit Report Site
No Free Online Access for Millions of Americans YONKERS, N.Y., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Millions of U.S. citizens outside the country -- including several hundred thousand members of the armed forces -- are not permitted to see their personal credit information on the Web site set up by law to provide free access, over security concerns that an offshore user might create. Four years ago, the U.S. Congress mandated creating the http://www.annualcreditreport.com site that gives consumers free access to one report per year from each of the three major credit agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The law that created that site, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 -- known as FACTA, or the FACT Act -- was designed to protect U.S.
Consumer Affairs warns about 'not-so-free'
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) encourages people to check their credit reports annually. This is an important way consumers can safeguard against identity theft, credit fraud or unauthorized charges, and check for errors or inaccuracies that can affect a credit decision. Legislation that became effective in South Carolina on June 1, 2005, gives consumers the right to receive a FREE copy of their credit report once a year. However, if ordering your credit report online, consumers are warned to stay away from misleading Web sites claiming to offer free credit reports, then enrolling the unsuspecting consumer in a monthly reporting service costing $11.95 each month. SCDCA has received numerous complaints from consumers who are further victimized when emails trying to cancel the service go unanswered and the Web sites offer no information on cancellation.
Christchurch Intl Airport Credit Rating Change
Christchurch International Airport today announced that Standard and Poors have revised the Company's Credit Rating following their annual business review, from A-/Negative Outlook to BBB+/Stable. The key reasons for this change in ratings were a slower than expected growth, predominantly in domestic passenger movements, and the increase in debt that will arise from the new Integrated Terminal Development Project and its implications on credit ratios. .
More people are freezing credit report
Spooked by the possibility of identity theft, increasing numbers of people are taking a radical approach to thwart criminals: They are putting their credit reports on permanent freeze. A frozen credit report prevents almost anyone from using your name to take out a loan or sign up for credit, such as a credit card, a bank account or cell phone service. That is because, with a freeze in place, potential new creditors can't get access to your credit record kept on file by the three main credit-reporting bureaus without your explicit permission. Michael Dana, a Dallas police detective, chose to freeze his credit reports after a Texas law took effect last month that made freezes available to all residents. Dana says he received several notices from financial institutions and the government saying that some of his personal information may have been compromised.
ManageEngine Security Manager Plus Provides Support for Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance Audits
AdventNet Inc., the leading provider of affordable Enterprise IT management & IT security software, today announced an upgrade to ManageEngine Security Manager Plus 5, a network security scanner that proactively reports on network vulnerabilities and helps to remediate them and ensure compliance. This update offers support for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance. A PCI Audit report provided by Security Manager Plus presents the compliance status of a network asset by verifying if frequent vulnerability scans are performed, encrypted data transfer is enabled, default passwords are tracked, etc. This helps payment service providers and merchants to safeguard their network resources and cardholder data. .
Nils Pratley: BarCap looks jaunty enough
For Barclays' investors, the knowledge that there is no black hole in the investment banking division will probably be good enough for now. A net write-down of £1.3bn at Barclays Capital was a reasonable result after the lurid rumours. The hit is painful, but in the context of a banking group worth £35bn, even after the falls in the share price, it's bearable. Bob Diamond and his crew have proved they are not naive newcomers to Wall Street's jungle. They took out some well-judged hedging positions in August and October, and seem to have cleansed the books of a decent quantity of sub-prime assets earlier in the year. In leveraged finance - the debt that funded the private equity boom - Barclays appears extremely confident about the quality of the stuff it is holding.
Private equity code 'does not go far enough'
The much anticipated report into the code of conduct for private equity firms, released today, has been criticised by politicians and unions for not going far enough. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir David Walker, a former banker and city regulator who drafted the report, said a code of conduct was necessary now that the private equity firms employed one in 10 people in the private sector and owned "iconic high street companies" such as Alliance Boots. .
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