From FICO to Facebook, some lending institutions are turning to social media to assess your credit score. If you have a tough time accessing credit or don’t have a credit score, you should take into account that a number of lending companies are using your online activity as an indicator of your creditworthiness.
But the practice is raising legal concerns.
Social Data
Lenddo is a Hong Kong-based micro-lender on the forefront of factoring in social media data into its lending decisions, reports CNN Money.
Companies like Lenddo use social behavior, information from your community, and data related to your online purchases to provide a more accurate representation of your creditworthiness.
Taking the old adage of “you are the company you keep” to unsettling new levels, if one of your friends has a bad track record, that doesn’t bode well for you.
Invasion of Privacy
The overarching concern is online consumer privacy, of course.
For example, a German company called Kreditech determines your location and considers creditworthiness based on whether your computer is located where you said you live or work, reports CNN Money.
