Your Loser Friends Could Hurt Your Credit Score

Lending companies with an eye on the future are using social media analytics when reviewing loan applications, according to CNN Money.  Companies like Lenddo, Kreditech, and Kabbage review applicants’ online lives the way more traditional lenders pick through financial histories:

“It turns out humans are really good at knowing who is trustworthy and reliable in their community,” said Jeff Stewart, a co-founder and CEO of Lenddo. “What’s new is that we’re now able to measure through massive computing power.”

If you’ve bought a house or a car (and didn’t use a giant sack of gold coins with a dollar sign on it) you know that credit checks involve rigorous research into your spending history.  The massive amounts of publicly available online data give financial companies more information; for the stuff that’s not public, they can make access a condition of the loan request.  Since lenders rely on collecting and analyzing data more than anyone outside of fantasy football owners, it’s not a surprising leap for them to ask to see your profiles.

The companies don’t reveal exactly what they look for, but it’s a good bet the day you spend trading obscenity-laden wall posts about Ben Affleck being cast as Batman doesn’t help - especially if it involved a friend from middle school who still lives in his parents’ basement.

 

 

 

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