Piggybacking
 

Met up with my parents in Virginia last month and they mentioned something about becoming real estate moguls. They didn't go into too much detail about it but mentioned it involved something like lending out their credit report, something something something. Gullible is a harsh word, but they've always been kind of "not very well-read" in the whole "finances" department and my dad always thinks he's found some way to make him rich and retire next week.

So yesterday I'm browsing around and I see this:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070603/cash_...edit.html?.v=6

and am pretty sure this is what they're doing.

I'm not sure if I should feel concerned or impressed. Would any of you try something like this? Should I try this?

Re: Piggybacking
 

wow. i guess it was "only a matter of time" as the importance of FICO scores increased, the motivation to create something like that would occurr.

for now, if you can do it, i vote for yes. seems like minimal work, minimal risk (assuming ICB does indeed throw away everything as it says it does), and a decent steady payment stream.

good luck.
Barron

Re: Piggybacking
 

If I were going to try something like this (which I wouldn't), I would really, really educate myself on how the whole credit scoring system works beforehand. It seems like too big of a risk for so little money. They claim there's no risk to the one whose credit is getting riden on, but they're sales people. Of course they're going to say that. I'm not saying there is any risk; I'm just saying I need more evidence than just the word of those who are making the money off me. More specifically, I'd want to do my own research on the subject matter.

Re: Piggybacking
 

yeah seems like real easy money, but hard to say how risky it is. I researched instantcreditbuilders a bit, there wasn't that much information on it.

Re: Piggybacking
 

If ICB screws up, and someone trashes your credit (or worse steals your identity), what do you tell the cops? Uh, I lent him my credit cards, but he wasn't supposed to use them!

There is no way to know whether ICB is doing their job or will be around to protect you if the house of cards blows up. I'd say the risks are higher than people think. Might still be worth doing, but I would never, ever, believe everything ICB says.

Re: Piggybacking
 

Definitely an interesting idea, but with the loose definition of "fraud" currently popular in US courts, you can never be sure of being legally protected regardless of any guarantees.

One thing I never knew was that you could add 20 authorized users to a credit card. That sounds ridiculous and should be the first thing that is changed if they want to combat this practice. How many legit students / spouses can a person have?