US consumers - Freezing your credit files DOES NOT HELP if you have not heard of NCTUE? Here is the bonus, NCTUE is also tied to Equifax. You may have to add NCTUE to the list of orgs to request credit freeze.

Mobile phone merchants do not ask any of the four credit bureaus, they are making credit queries with this organization. 

There are four “exchanges” that feed into the NCTUE’s system: the NCTUE itself; something called “Centralized Credit Check Systems“; the New York Data Exchange; and the California Utility Exchange.

The NYDE is operated by Equifax Credit Information Services Inc. (yes, that Equifax). Verizon is one of many telecom providers that use the NYDE (and recall that AT&T was the founder of NCTUE).

Many people who have succeeded in freezing their credit files with Equifax have nonetheless had their identities stolen and new accounts opened in their names thanks to a lesser-known credit bureau that seems to rely entirely on credit checking entities operated by Equifax.

NCTUE makes it fairly easy to obtain any records they may have on Americans.  Simply phone them up (1-866-349-5185) and provide your Social Security number and the numeric portion of your registered street address.

you can place a freeze on your NCTUE report by calling their 800-number — 1-866-349-5355.


https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/05/another-credit-freeze-target-nctue-com/

What is PNR - it is something that contains your full credit card # and sent to government by Booking agencies.

This one shocks me!

PNR -  Passenger Name Records

From the Article

My own PNRs include not just every mailing address, e-mail, and phone number I've ever used; some of them also contain:

The IP address that I used to buy the ticket

My credit card number (in full)

The language I used

Notes on my phone calls to airlines, even for something as minor as a seat change

Follow this link for additional details:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/07/ars-editor-learns-feds-have-his-old-ip-addresses-full-credit-card-numbers/

Experian Statement - It is NOT our fault (for legally letting someone access to data)

According to them , they just bought a company (to make money so, why bother about securing its data)

Link to the Fiasco

According to the article:- 

(Experian's Statements below)

No Experian database was accessed (and the company you bought is not Experian?)

Further, Experian’s only involvement was that it purchased the assets of a company, (so, you are not responsible for that company's security , how about the profit it generates?)

Court Ventures was selling the data in question to the criminal for over a year before Experian acquired (So, you did not bother checking)

Furthermore, any implication that there was a breach of 200 million records is entirely false and misleading – while the size of the database may be 200 million, that does not mean the total number of records were accessed. (do you have any proof ?)

Lastly, Experian discontinued the sales of this data immediately upon learning of the problem and worked closely with law enforcement to bring this criminal to justice (were you doing a favor? or did you have a choice NOT to do it?)

The link below has more information:-

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/04/fact-checking-experians-talking-points/

What is "Mobile Context", It has something to do with $44 Billion market and MasterCard's geolocation payment security.

Oh, by the way, if you lose credit card and phone in the same country then, the geolocation protection will work against you.

MasterCard says, mobile geolocation can deliver payment security - Really or is there an ulterior motive?

The author of this article has a few good points

SNIPPETS from the Article:-

Mobile geolocation data will tell MasterCard that your phone is in the same country (not city) where someone is trying to use your card to make a purchase. If your MasterCard were stolen at Giza and then used to buy a high-res TV in Cairo, MasterCard's new geolocation effort would take a look and decide everything must be fine, because your phone is in Egypt.

"All we care about is whether the consumer has changed the country where they are visiting," said James Davlouros, MasterCard's vice president of global strategic alliances.

Even if MasterCard were narrowing your phone's location down to a city, a neighborhood or a specific street, this isn't a foolproof approach. Say that you keep both your MasterCard and your phone in a purse or a backpack and then that purse or backpack is stolen. There go your credit card and your phone, always together in the shops the thief visits

(The real reason? - Mobile Context)

In the future, they could implement targeted offers, which will be made more relevant by knowing the location of a mobile device, for example in close proximity to a retail store. A research report for Syniverse from economists at SEEC uncovered a market valued of as much as $44 billion for operators providing services to brands based on opted-in mobile subscribers' information, behavior and location -- known as mobile context."

The links below has more information:

http://www.cio.com/article/749539/Is_MasterCard_s_Fraud_Program_Just_Another_Data_Grab_?page=1&taxonomyId=3061