Released: June 17, 2007

Stopping the credit score ‘piggyback’ ruse

Source: Kenneth R. Harney, Washington Post

The days may be numbered for dozens of Internet-based companies that promise to quickly boost FICO credit scores by 200 to 300 points.

Fair Isaac, the developer of the widely used FICO score, plans to introduce key changes designed to derail schemes that transplant high-quality credit card histories to the files of people with low FICO scores.

The credit-boost companies, easily found on the Web by searching for “credit trade line,” claim that they violate no federal laws and are not seeking to defraud mortgage lenders. But mortgage industry groups, federal and state regulators, and credit industry leaders say the programs represent significant threats to the home lending system—opening the door to fraudulent home loan applications.

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