DISQUS

Blown Mortgage: Lending Tree lead data stolen - do you know where your social security number is?

  • CD Davis · 1 year ago
    Waddya expect from a bunch of ex-Wachovia/First Union hacks
  • jillayne schlicke · 1 year ago
    OMG. Why didn't they change the passwords when those employees were terminated?
  • morganb · 1 year ago
    one would think that would be a standard IT security best practice. worst
    of all is i heard tons of stories of crooked folks in big lenders' IT
    departments who were duplicating every lead coming through the doors to sell
    to their friends at mortgage shops. that entire process is fraught with
    security gaps.
  • Johnny_Utah · 1 year ago
    This kind of thing can happen anywhere... No one's data is ever safe. The thing people need to realize is that their personal information is available to anyone who is willing to pay for it. People need to take things into their own hands and protect themselves, not expect others to do it for them. Sure, there's an expectation of privacy but you shouldn't rely on anyone but yourself for your absolute privcacy/security. Lending Tree should've changed the passwords and needs to re-examine their operations security.

    CD Davis, there are others out there who've made serious security bunders, not just Lending Tree. For example, in Dec 2004 a BOA employee packed up and sent tapes, which were supposed to be encrypted but weren't, to its backup data center. They were sent via commercial air. In Jan of 2005 someone realized that the tapes never made it to the data center. What was on the tapes? Information on government workers who were enrolled in a charge card account. More than a million names, addresses, account numbers, and social security numbers. The bank didn't go public with this until February of 2004. Lending Tree's blunder is peanuts compared to this. So, calling Lending Tree employees a bunch of hacks is ridiculous.

    How secure is the data where you work? How about anyone else? How secure is any of the data we see on a daily basis? A disgruntled employee can start giving away or selling information right under your nose and you would be absolutely clueless about it until someone says something. Before calling people hacks, you should make sure your ship is tight and not leaking water anywhere or, just think about how idiotic a statement like that really is.

    By the way, I don't work for Lending Tree nor am I affiliated with them in anyway.

    Regards,
    Johnny Utah - Quaterback Punk
  • Denver Mortgage · 1 year ago
    People should place a security freeze on their credit profile at each of the major credit bureaus. That way -- if their information is stolen -- the thieves will be unable to open new lines of credit
  • morganb · 1 year ago
    great recommendation.
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