Question:
Dear Steve,
Why are you writing false information about that group and using that douchebag for all your information??
This is the problem your a sheep like everyone else you dont truly do your homework just let someone else feed it to your.
YOU my friend are bullshit im just giving you the heads up before i completely shut down your website….NO you cannot stop me YES im doing it for fun enjoy
Bobby
Answer:
Dear Bobby,
Clearly, you are upset. But at what, I’m not sure.
My recent posts that involved a Facebook ground, surrounded the marketing of CPNs, also known as “credit profile numbers,” “credit privacy numbers,” or “credit protection numbers.” It is an old approach that used to be known as file segregation until someone came up with the CPN name.
Warnings about such practices go back decades. As I showed in my articles people who sell, buy and use CPN to build new credit are engaged in illegal activity that can land them with a criminal complaint and jail time.
So I’m not clear on what in my articles was sheepish, bullshit, or douchey.
When it comes to authoritative resources regarding using numbers in place of your valid Social Security Number, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter are not reliable sources.
I prefer to trust sources like:
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
“So, ads promising a new credit identity and fresh start are enticing. Some credit repair companies provide this new identity in two very questionable ways: by requesting an employee identification number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or by selling the consumer a credit profile, credit privacy or credit protection number (CPN) for use in place of the individual’s social security number (SSN) when applying for credit. Consumers need to know that providing a number other than an SSN on a credit application in the allocated space is illegal and can result in criminal prosecution.
CPN schemes are illegal. Those who purchase a CPN and use it to establish a clean credit file are committing several crimes, including identity theft and making false statements on a loan or credit application.” (2011) – Source
Federal Trade Commission
“Companies promising a “new credit identity” say they can help you hide bad credit history or bankruptcy for a fee. If you pay them, these companies will provide you with a nine-digit number that looks like a Social Security number. They may call it a CPN — a credit profile number or a credit privacy number. Or, they may direct you to apply for an EIN — an Employer Identification Number — from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). EIN’s are legitimate numbers, typically used by businesses to report financial information to the IRS and Social Security Administration — but an EIN is not a substitute for your Social Security number.
The credit repair companies may tell you to apply for credit using the CPN or EIN, rather than your own Social Security number. And they may lie and tell you that this process is legal. But it’s a scam. These companies may be selling stolen Social Security numbers, often those taken from children. By using a stolen number as your own, the con artists will have involved you in identity theft.
If you follow a credit repair company’s advice and commit fraud, you might find yourself in legal trouble. It’s a federal crime to:
- lie on a credit or loan application
- misrepresent your Social Security number
- obtain an EIN from the IRS under false pretenses
The bottom line is that if you use the number they sell you, you could face fines or time in prison.” – Source
FederalBureau of Investigation
This quote comes from nearly two decades ago in 2000.
“Sometimes called “file segregation,” these schemes are pitched over the Internet and e-mail to consumers with poor credit histories. They lure consumers into breaking the law by creating fake credit histories with substitutes for their genuine social security numbers. Consumers pay fees as high as hundreds of dollars to the so-called credit repair companies. They are then instructed to apply to the IRS for a taxpayer or employee identification number, which is then substituted for their nine-digit social security number. Thus, the credit repair scams actually turn gullible consumers into criminals by advising them to use false identification numbers to apply for credit.” – Source
United State Department of Justice
This concerns effort from 1998. The DOJ had this to say:
“CROA also prohibits requiring advance payments for promised services. 15 U.S.C. § 1679b(b). Thus, credit repair organizations cannot lawfully promise to “repair credit” and collect money for their services before accomplishing that goal.
CROA also prohibits “file segregation” schemes, which are advertised as a way of creating a new credit identity. File segregation operators advise the consumer to apply to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for an Employer Identification Number (“EIN”). Consumers are told to use the EIN in lieu of their Social Security Number when applying for credit in order to create a completely new credit file in which the old debts will not appear. The scheme essentially involves an attempt to hide one’s identity from creditors by getting credit with the EIN and a name and address that differ slightly from accurate identifiers.
Both the person selling such a scheme and consumers who follow the scheme are violating the law. CROA bars any person from making or counseling any consumer to make any untrue or misleading statement the intended effect of which is to alter the consumer’s identification in an effort to hide accurate credit information. 15 U.S.C. § 1679b(a)(2). Consumers following such advice may be committing felonies. See 42 U.S.C. § 408(a)(7)(B)(falsely representing a number to be the social security account number); 18 U.S.C. § 1014 (false statement on credit application).In 1999, CPB brought a series of cases seeking injunctions and civil penalties against businesses that offered “file segregation” schemes.” – Source
I Could Go On
I could go on but I’m more interested in what you feel is in error or untrue in the articles I believe you are talking about, here and here.
Please respond by posting in the comments section below.
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I’ve read several articles, and it seems as if the number itself is legal (as long as it’s not stolen from an actual person, dead or alive) but how people use them CAN be illegal. Do the rich not use them privacy?
You can have a fake number but you can’t use a fake number. The law is clear that a fake number used in place of your assigned number is illegal. To get a legitimate replacement Social Security Number you would have to contact the Social Security Administration. Here is the process and guidelines. https://faq.ssa.gov/en-US/Topic/article/KA-02220
I’m not talking about a Social Security number, I’m specifically asking does any person use CPNs legally for any reason? And if not, why are books like 15 Min CPN Program for sale on Amazon?
You can’t find how to cook crack cocaine or how to successfully traffic children.
What use would there be for a CPN other than to use in replacement of an assigned and valid SSN?
Were they ever used by the rich or famous to protect their credit/identity? Or that’s all a crock of crap?
Also, please help me understand WHY reputable retailers allow the sales of these books. I mean, if it’s illegal, why wouldn’t the gov be cracking down?
Companies can remove your Instagram post with music that doesn’t belong to you – surely the gov is aware of CPN literature. For gods sake you can google CPN and ads will pop up. HOWWWW if it’s not legal?
As I linked before, you can apply for a replacement SSN. That number is issued by the Social Security Administration. Celebrities have an official SSN that is assigned to them, just like you and I do. If those numbers become public that creates the same problem just like if your SSN does. https://nypost.com/2014/12/05/celebrities-social-security-numbers-leaked-in-sony-hack/
There is no secret encoded SSN that a celebrity uses in place of their legitimate Social Security Number.
Celebrities in the past have had credit freezes placed on their credit bureau reports to prevent unauthorized access. However, anybody can do that for free these days.
But that is not how CPNs are marketed. They are said to be alternative numbers people can use when they have bad credit. And yes the government is aware of the CPN scam and has for years tried to get information out there, as I have, to educate people so they don’t fall for this.
As far as why Amazon would sell information that could be used illegally, that is a topic for a much broader conversation about the role of business, government, and society.
Very nicely done, Steve!
Question submitted.
Answered.
These groups are not only selling CPNs, but are advertising forging documents, adding tradelines and authorized users to obtain credit fraudulently. One user even suggested obtaining the CPN, inflating the score, using the credit, transferring the money into a seperate bank account, filing bankruptcy on the CPN, then “rinse and repeat”. How is this not fraudulent? I’m sorry, but this poster is putting themselves on the regulator’s radar by taking this stance. It is flat wrong and all of it is being exposed. Along with the players involved.