Stark County Probate Judge Dixie Park Alerted to Continued and Serious Threat to U.S. Banking and Credit System, SubscriberWise Confirms

David Howe, SubscriberWise founder and a leading authority on child
and synthetic identity theft, has alerted Judge Dixie Park of a recent
threat to the national credit system following a probate name change in
Stark County, Ohio.

MASSILLON, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SubscriberWise®, a leading provider of analytics driven subscriber
decision management technology and the nation’s largest issuing consumer
reporting agency for the communications industry, announced today that
the company president has informed the Honorable Dixie Park of Stark
County, Ohio about probate name changes that profoundly undermine the
nation’s banking and credit system with the creation of inaccurate and
misleading credit reports.

“Today I spoke with the Honorable Judge Dixie Park concerning a serious
situation involving one of the court’s probate petitioners and a legal
name change that resulted in the subsequent creation of a new and
spotless credit file,” stated David Howe, president of SubscriberWise.
“Last June I was interviewed by the FBI after SubscriberWise uncovered a
similar case (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150606005019/en/FBI-Interviews-SubscriberWise-CEO).

“I sincerely appreciated hearing from Judge Park following my initial
contact with the court on January 20, 2016. Judge Park provided an
opportunity for me to explain how the subject of the name change was
able to instantly obtain a new credit file despite more than two decades
of history which included recent and serious account delinquency. I told
the judge that this particular situation was suspicious but there was no
actual evidence of fraud.

“The process is enabled because of antiquated rules which mandate a
single newspaper publication of the proposed name change. It’s also
possible because the national credit systems rely on subject selection
criteria to identify existing files. When an individual changes his or
her full name and then substantially alters other identity information –
often with the intent to deceive these systems – that behavior causes
credit systems to fail to link the existing file even with unique
identifiers that include an individual’s SSN,” explained Howe. “And when
a court approves a proposed name change under seal without any
publication requirement or docket entry, uncovering the scheme is even
more challenging.

“I politely expressed my frustrations with the Judge,” acknowledged
Howe. “I argued that the limited duties on both courts and petitioners
enable individuals with extremely adverse credit histories to completely
conceal their past by easily obtaining new credit files. I explained how
difficult it is to identify these inaccurate and false reports. Judge
Park confirmed the publication requirements and also mentioned
additional investigative functions on the subject’s background. I
suggested several solutions and thanked the judge for taking time to
contact me. I let her know that I intended to continue my efforts with
lawmakers at the state and national levels.

“The Congress has stated that our banking and credit system is an
elaborate mechanism and it’s dependent on fair and accurate reporting.
Inaccurate credit reports directly impair the efficiency of the banking
system, and unfair credit reporting methods undermine the public
confidence which is essential to the continued functioning of the
banking system. A new name should not entitle an individual to also have
a new credit history. Lawmakers and judges across this country need to
understand this, and they need to enact laws to stop it from
continuing,” Howe concluded.

About SubscriberWise

SubscriberWise® launched as the first U.S. issuing consumer reporting
agency exclusively for the cable industry in 2006. In 2009,
SubscriberWise and TransUnion announced a joint marketing agreement for
the benefit of America’s independent cable operators. Today
SubscriberWise is a risk management preferred-solutions provider for the
National Cable Television Cooperative.

SubscriberWise contributions to the communications industry are
quantified in the billions of dollars annually.

Contacts

SubscriberWise
David Howe, 330-880-4848 x137