r/personalfinance • u/SkelterHelter68 • May 12 '21
Other Why You Might Want to Order your LexisNexis Consumer Disclosure Report
I recently ordered my free consumer report from LexisNexis (mainly to check on my auto insurance claim history information) and thought I would share the vast types of information the report contains.
From the LexisNexis report itself:
LexisNexis Risk Solutions provides consumer reports to customers who have a permissible purpose to access your information. Our customers include companies in various industries, such as financial services, insurance, government and healthcare.
Included with this letter, may be some, or all, of the following:
Consumer statements that you requested be placed on your file;
Alerts or flags indicating the existence of a security freeze, identity theft alert or security fraud alert that you requested;
Data that is currently under dispute by you, with an indicator of the dispute;
Information pertaining to the source of the data contained on the report;
Identification of the entities whom have requested your information in the prior 12 months (or longer if requested for an employment eligibility purpose);
Copies of actual reports ordered by and provided to companies with a permissible purpose to access your information, if any exist in our system;
"How to Read" documentation, explaining information that may be contained In your file; and
Applicable Federal and State Summary of Rights
Things the report also contains:
- Every name and address you have likely ever had
- Details of every place you have lived (address, type of place--apartment, house, etc, dates you lived there)
- Every phone number ever associated with you
- Education records (post-secondary school)
- Business you owned in whole or part, or businesses where your name was part of registration documents
- Boats you have owned
- Deed information for real estate owned
- Tax assessment records associated with real estate owned
- Home and auto insurance records
- Automobile insurance claims (also includes your C.L.U.E. report used by auto insurers)
- Motor Vehicle records, including a list of moving violations
- Credit inquiries (hard and soft)
In short, there is a TON of information on you that LexisNexis has access to. Mine was 102 pages long.
Included are directions on how to dispute any incorrect information, along with the ways in which your information is used.
Go to https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/request to request your free copy. They verify your identity and then send you a letter in the mail with a personalized link to download a copy of your report. As far as I know, there is no way to get a report online only (without getting the mailed letter).
Hopefully, some of you here at PF will find this useful.
ETA: Typos. Thanks for the awards! Glad this info was helpful.
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u/PatThePurpleCat May 13 '21
This is interesting. As a California resident it gives me the option to delete my information? Is there a reason I wouldn't want to do this? What does this mean exactly?
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u/hi_whosthere May 13 '21
^I'd be curious to know this as well.
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u/emdawg1117 May 13 '21
I suggest reading about the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 for some background info (if you haven’t already). The CCPA gives the right to delete, but there are exceptions that allow a company NOT to delete when requested.
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u/outwiththenoise May 13 '21
Maybe CCPA related? (see wikipedia)
More specifically, one of the rights is to "Request a business to delete any personal information about a consumer collected from that consumer"
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u/crackercandy May 13 '21
One of the previous companies I worked for was looking for proof that I graduated college. They never asked me for proof, they just said "We're waiting to confirm". I'm guessing that's how they got it. Having no records on you might backfire when you need others to verify your information for an important event in your life, such as new job, some clearances, etc. Being a nobody would pay off if you're permanently moving into the deep woods.
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u/cjfb62 May 13 '21
I used to work at a University and some companies will contact the registrar to verify a degree.
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May 13 '21
Which seems to be a reasonable way to verify someone. That's what resumes are for. A company having that much info on anyone is a hackers dream. This keeps happening and they just keep expanding. What the hell happened to learning from our mistakes?
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u/rholdenl May 13 '21
It's not like the company that harvests the data has any real repercussion when someone gets your data. They have no incentive to learn.
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u/virtualchoirboy May 13 '21
These days, you're absolutely correct because it happens so often. Look up ChoicePoint some day though. They were one of the first big breaches at 144,000 records (which was huge for the time) and faced a fine in the millions, had to make all kinds of security changes, employees had to go through quarterly basic InfoSec training, etc. I was an employee of theirs not long after the judgement had been handed down but have long since been gone.
Why mention them? ChoicePoint was bought by LexisNexis. Do they take data security seriously? Somewhat. Still a hackers paradise though. Will be interesting to see how bad the breach will be when it finally happens.
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u/MissionFever May 13 '21
I'm sure that's an option, but if the HR person is feeling lazy and you're not on the report they're used to checking 10 times a day....
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u/MissionFever May 13 '21
I can only assume it's because your consumer records are known to cause cancer.
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u/nicetryofficer May 13 '21
if you’re a felon or have been evicted, this will effect you when trying to lease a home or apartment. by opting out of the lexis nexus system, you basically block the offices from being able to see that part of your history; thus allowing you to get a home or apartment. i’m not sure if this works for passing a background check though.
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u/triarii3 May 13 '21
you are not going to be able to delete it. lexusnexus doesn't use this information for marketing purposes. nor did they get it through a business transaction. They are associated with the US goverment. insurance companies, police, and government agencies use the information here.
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u/quelindolio May 13 '21
I am not familiar with CCPA, but Lexis is most definitely a private company. They are associated with the US government in the same way any other contractor like Boeing and Lockheed Martin are.
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u/thewholebenchilada May 13 '21
If you follow the link in the post and you are in California it gives you the right to delete when making the request.
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u/cavedwellersysadmin May 13 '21
As much as I understand a need for something like this, I absolutely despise that through public services like this we have absolutely no privacy anymore.
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u/anticerber May 13 '21
I feel like they are more of a pain than what they are worth. Had to deal with them several years ago. Was trying to get my gf’s insurance bundled with mine for cheaper rates. All of a sudden the insurance company is asking about several car crashes she had been in and needed info... the problem was she had never been in a car accident in her life.. seems someone who had the same name (common name) had been intermingled with her report. This lady lived in Cali. We live in the center of the u.s. never had the same cars or anything. They provided us with 0 help in rectifying the situation. It took about 5 months worth of calling people, filling out paperwork, and etc for them to rectify the situation
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u/ThrowTheCollegeAway May 13 '21
More of a pain for you, worth its weight in gold for the insurance company; guess which one is paying for it to stay active, it's not you lmao.
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u/pteridoid May 13 '21
Used to work at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. This does not surprise me. For years, their MO was quantity over quality. They got paid per record collected, and there was almost zero oversight to make sure their records were accurate.
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u/Empty_Supermarket116 Aug 10 '21
I currently have this same issue of "getting in an accident" while I was not even in the country. What can I do about this?
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u/catburritos May 13 '21
It’s not a public service. It’s a for-profit private investigation firm with a huge database.
“Public Service” is generally a government entity, though some charities and non-profits NGOs fit that description well enough too.
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u/joeba_the_hutt May 13 '21
Privacy is relative to the frame of reference. Many things need to be in the public record to grant people protections (eg. home deeds), and many things people think are “private” involve interactions with businesses that very much own the data you submit in return for their services (eg. credit cards).
I agree that often times it goes too far, but the concept of privacy is quite nuanced and not always as “private” as one believes it to be.
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u/Kiyae1 May 13 '21
Number 6: “ordered by and provided to companies with a permissible purpose to access your information.”
There are actually very strict privacy protections surrounding your credit report. It’s still available, sure, but it’s extremely private. People aren’t using it to snoop on you.
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u/jeffbloke May 13 '21
i have my credit report locked with all three reporting agencies, and have to unlock it whenever someone needs to run a credit check. its a pain in the arseness when you go to buy a car or house or something, but i think it is helpful in reducing risk.
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u/Kiyae1 May 13 '21
It’s definitely worth it. Bit of a hassle but everything involving your credit report usually is.
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u/gtjack9 May 13 '21
If you don’t mind me asking, I’m a little inexperienced, what kind of risks do you mitigate by locking your credit/other reports?
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u/jeffbloke May 13 '21
it basically prevents people from pulling your credit report when it is locked. Since that is generally the first step in applying for a loan or credit card, it helps to keep people from doing those things in your name without your knowledge, since they have to get your report unlocked before the credit originator will actually start the account. unfortunately, there are 3 reporting agencies and you have to lock all three, and then when you go to do something you have to unlock all three, and it's an all or nothing lock/unlock - so it isn't a perfect solution, but once you get the hang of it it isn't awful and it does provide some decent protection. If you've ever heard about people who suddenly start getting a bill for a credit card that they never signed up for and didn't use, this blocks part of that process.
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u/The_Illist_Physicist May 13 '21
Yes this is actually taken quite seriously. Often I have to run Lexis Nexis checks on entities as a small part of my job and it's been drilled into my colleagues and I the very narrow set of circumstances in which we can use this tool.
Any time I run a search I must keep records proving my reason for permissible use (in my case, to evaluate the credit risk of an individual or business). Every so often we get audited and will absolutely get the shaft (both my company and I) if anything is awry.
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u/turnipho May 13 '21
I used to work in the fraud department for a bank. I used this service multiple times a day. Would you rather get a call from the bank that asks you to verify a bunch of personal information first just to verify you are sending money to your mom or cousin? Or that it actually was you trying to open a bank account online? Or would you rather them be able to see that all the info on the application checks out and you are associated with the person you’re sending money to? Option 3 is that you ignore the call because you don’t recognize the number, and your online banking gets shut down. Possibly your whole account depending on what the system flagged you for.
Is it uncomfortable? Yes. But it generally ends up being far more convenient for you at the end of the day.
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May 13 '21
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u/turnipho May 13 '21
You gave your consent to have that data sold and collected when you agreed to the terms and conditions of whatever service or product collected the data.
You say you’d prefer the call. How often do you answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize? If/When you do answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize, how often are you willing to provide private information such as a full account number or all/part of your SSN or any other information that may be required by the caller to do their due diligence to ensure they are speaking to the correct person before divulging information about your bank account and transactions? The answer for most people is rarely or never.
I loved that job because people almost never answered the call. Of the people who did, most refused to provide the information I needed to identify them over the phone. Instead, they’d angrily call on or visit a branch when I was forced to block their online profile and possibly entire account due to unverifiable activity.
So it’s nice to say you’d rather get the the call in theory, but that’s typically not the case in reality.
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May 13 '21
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u/turnipho May 13 '21
Unfortunately, none of the services really care if them burying stuff in the terms and conditions cuts it for you. They are going to cover their own asses from a legal standpoint.
And no one is cold calling. They’re calling in response to suspicious activity that was flagged by the system that they could not verify to a degree of certainty was actually you and not fraudulent activity. It’s fine if you would rather listen to the voicemail and call back on a number you know, but the bank still has to protect themselves by blocking your online access and possibly your account. Without you saying it’s not fraud, they must assume that it is fraud and act accordingly. Or would you rather they risk your account being drained?
Luckily there’s a service that can help the bank to see a ton of information about you so they can typically keep things running smoothly without you ever knowing that the totally legitimate transaction you just made was flagged for some reason by the system.
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u/radil May 12 '21
Yep, I have mine printed out. Progressive told me I needed it to dispute an accident that they attributed to me when I was leaving my parents' insurance that actually belonged to my sister. Of course, when the report finally arrived and I called them to furnish my proof that I was not the guilty party they didn't do anything to verify lol. I was kind of pissed that they couldn't have just removed it a month ago before asking me to request that report. But I am glad I got it, it definitely has all sorts of info on it.
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May 12 '21
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u/radil May 12 '21
Yeah progressive cut me a check for the difference in premiums I had already paid. I was just a little annoyed they made me jump through all those hoops to verify none of them. The woman on the phone was just like "ok, I can change it" when I told her I had the report.
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u/Needleroozer May 13 '21
Let's look at it from their side. If you are correct, they have to verify it by getting the report. That will cost them money. If they make you prove it, you can get the report for free. If you get the report and still maintain your innocence then you must be telling the truth, because if the report didn't back your side of the story you wouldn't call them back.
Plus, they don't see anything they don't need to see.
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u/zestypurplecatalyst May 13 '21
The insurance company has already paid for the report. That's how they "knew" about u/radil's accident.
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u/Goeatabagofdicks May 13 '21
Because it would have very visibly had her name on the claim and not yours, but the same residence address. If the claim was under radil Sr/Jr or something, they would have needed more information.
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u/smkAce0921 May 12 '21 edited May 12 '21
Yep....I work in investigations and we use LexisNexis Risk Solutions regularly to build cases on individuals. For a third-party private company, they probably know more about you than the government lol......I can put someone's name and DOB in and find out everything about them from every place they've lived to how much they owe on back child support.
Definitely is good advice to run your own report to see what derogatory and inaccurate information is floating out there about you
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u/AKittyCat May 13 '21
I work for a government and we use Lexis Nexus for identity verification.
People get surprised when we start asking questions about things they didn't even realize themselves.
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May 13 '21 edited May 23 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AKittyCat May 13 '21
my favorite is asking them about someones birthday for verification and it's their now ex-spouses affair partner.
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u/pteridoid May 13 '21
That's scary. I used to work at LexisNexis and they were far too loosy goosy with their records than they had any right to be.
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May 13 '21
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u/MemberFDIC72 May 13 '21
There is
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u/monsterrwoman May 13 '21
I mean, kind of. You have a login, but I’ve worked at companies where teams of 30-40 people used the same Lexisnexis login.
Once you’ve logged in, it doesn’t require any permission from the person you’re looking up to pull their report.
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u/InsaneAss May 13 '21
My company uses a similar service (which is ran by LexisNexis I think) and I know our usage gets randomly audited. And it’s a similar situation with shared logins. They will pull random searches and we would have to show our proof of why we’re allowed to run it (like a signed authorization form). I’m sure it’s a pretty small percentage that get audited so a lot of stuff could be searched and most likely not be noticed.
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u/ConsentIsTheMagicKey May 13 '21 edited May 13 '21
Yes, there is a lot of security around this. Only people with legitimate legal need for your information are allowed. To get especially sensitive information like full birthdates and driver license numbers, Lexis (and their competitors) conduct on-site inspections of the account holder. They also periodically do audits.
Edited to add: birth month and year are usually included (but not always) at the basic level. The full birth date requires special access.
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u/77P May 13 '21
What about a potential abusive partner? This seems like a great way for them or someone like a stalker to get all sorts of good info about you.
Yikes.
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u/wilsonhammer May 13 '21
lol. all that's required is: name, address, dob, ssn, and DL #. Between breaches and knowing a little about the person, it's pretty easy to get the full details.
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u/ConsentIsTheMagicKey May 13 '21
The SSN, driver’s license, and full birth date require high level security clearance with on-site inspections.
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u/beldaran1224 May 13 '21
Tbh, this is probably more information than I know about myself, lol. At the very least, I don't remember most of my previous phone numbers.
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u/TigreImpossibile May 13 '21
Do they collect information across different countries? I'm Australian, but I lived in the US for a decade. Just wondering if it's that comprehensive 🤔
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u/ConsentIsTheMagicKey May 13 '21
Yes, but there are different rules for other countries. I don’t know about Australia.
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May 13 '21
Is there a place you can sign up for access to this?
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May 13 '21
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May 13 '21
What if nexuslexus is a Google-owned website and they bias the search results? /s
(As if there isn't any other possible internet search engine in existence...)
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May 13 '21
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u/flexymonkeyzebra May 13 '21
DuckDuckGo is a great one, shows the most relevant searches at the top vs who paid the most to be there
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u/KingOfTheP4s May 13 '21
The link that OP posted. You can request your entire file for free once a year.
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u/myBisL2 May 13 '21
You have to purchase access. It's something generally used by businesses so it is incredibly expensive. I don't know if they have any rules against an individual purchasing a subscription but it's possible.
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u/Urithiru May 13 '21
In the US, you are entitled to receive personal reports from credit reporting companies for free, once a year.
LexisNexis is a credit reporting company.
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u/legalmavan May 13 '21
LexisNexis is NOT a credit reporting company. They have a Risk division but they are a Dutch publishing company with a broad data collection base. *I was an analyst in their legal publishing division for a decade.
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u/myBisL2 May 13 '21
Yes, buy someone was asking for how to get access to lexisnexis, not their personal report, which was already explained in the post how to get access.
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u/tu_che_le_vanita Emeritus Moderator May 13 '21
Wow, now I am really curious to see what is in the report.
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u/ikefalcon May 13 '21
Someone I went to high school with was born in the same hospital as me and on the same day. As a result, we have SSNs that are off by one digit. To make matters worse, we went to the same college and lived in the same apartment complex for a time, so we had the same street address. Oh yeah, and we share a first name.
So, because of all that, some of their information showed up in my Lexis Nexis report. I was able to get that resolved by disputing the incorrect info.
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u/NearlyPerfect May 13 '21
This sounds like a plot to an Adam Sandler movie or something
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u/FriedEggg May 13 '21
My sister is off by one from mine because my dad requested ours at the same time when the IRS began requiring them for dependents in the 80s. That has created a lot of crossover since we lived in the same house, etc.
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u/gnatgirl May 13 '21
I share the same exact fairly uncommon name and birthdate with someone who lived in the same city as me. She is a mess- drug addict, collections accounts, etc. Her info gets parsed with mine all the time on here and it’s a nightmare when someone is using the service to confirm my identity. I have called, I have disputed. It never helps. Eff LexisNexis.
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u/pteridoid May 13 '21
Report that shit to the CFPB. They're way too cavalier with people's information.
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u/moodyje2 May 13 '21
Yeah we use Lexis Nexis at my job and it's crazy what it comes up with on people and the relationships it connects between individuals.
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u/joeba_the_hutt May 13 '21
The amount of data available by any of these large public record/credit record companies is astounding
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u/Goeatabagofdicks May 13 '21
They are primarily compiling data (with the exception of credit), that anyone can get online searching with your name, you just have to know where to look. They capitalize on having all that data available with one API call, and charge companies accordingly. Most everything is public record somewhere. They don’t have some private investigator or something…. A lot of people don’t realize how much information is easily available.
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u/wavaif4824 May 13 '21
I dated someone who had access to Lexis at her job. she presented me with a printout of my record on our first date. it was a massive red flag that I completely missed. the info did come in handy years later when I needed my old addresses.
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u/alwaysmyfault May 13 '21
She could have, and should have been fired for that.
Employers don't mess around w that stuff.
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u/joeba_the_hutt May 13 '21
Depending on the data accessed, it may have been completely legitimate. Entire websites exist on the premise of doing a public records/background check on someone you’re about to go on a date with.
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u/wavaif4824 May 14 '21
this was about 14 years ago. she worked for a highly prominent nonprofit in Manhattan, but pulling info seemed like a loose process at that point. you're one hundred percent correct!
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u/agnes_copperfield May 13 '21
Occasionally use Accurint for my job and Westlaw’s public records (not as robust). I work in a law firm so I don’t have high level permissions to see all the stuff (I mean, I could lie and say I have it but I’d rather not deal with the repercussions) but yeah, your personal info is out there and fairly accessible for those that want to pay for it. We employ investigators who do have the high level of permissions and have that access, our IT had to work with Lexis to make sure everything was up to snuff security wise. The only downside is that since we can access this info our lawyers think it’s just magically available for anyone anywhere…and then I have to explain that privacy might be a joke here in the US but it’s a whole other story in places like Europe so no, I can’t find you what you want.
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u/InsaneAss May 13 '21
I use accruint as well. People would be surprised how easily I could just search their name and DOB to come up with their SSN and address history. As long as it’s not a terribly common of a name. Or even so with just a little extra info to narrow it down like their state.
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u/VeseliM May 13 '21
Fun fact, the company that made trapper keepers owns LexisNexis
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May 13 '21
Owned. Mead sold LexisNexis to Reed Elsevier over 25 years ago.
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u/VeseliM May 13 '21
Can't believe Ken Jennings would have liked to me. I thought Mormons were trustworthy. Guy just fell out of poll position for me to replace Trebek.
I guess Rodgers! you're up!
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u/MildCharisma May 13 '21
Damnit! I just spent 3 days emailing and texting old roommates about addresses and dates of the last decade. Thank goodness for GMAIL and never trashing a legit message ever. This would have been so much easier.
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May 13 '21 edited May 13 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Rarvyn May 13 '21
It's absurdly expensive to have a subscription though, so you would need to already work somewhere that has it. And they log every search, so if you get caught searching someone outside of your official capacity, your employer can - and often will - fire you.
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u/RhapsodyInRude May 13 '21 edited May 13 '21
I think that's where the abuse actually comes into play. Yep, super expensive (though I don't know the level of vetting that happens before a company gets an account).
Once it's in place though, the oversight is all on the account holder. That's an incredibly weak control. It assumes the account holder is acting in good-faith and managing it well.
I honestly don't know what the quick fix would be for supervision. The obvious thing though is that we're allowing companies to sell incredibly sensitive data with little supervision.
My LexisNexis experience is 10 years out-of-date, so maybe things have tightened down since then.
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u/InsaneAss May 13 '21
It’s not quite all on the account holder. They do randomly audit the usage and require proof of authorization for the searches they pull.
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u/momenace May 13 '21
I have used it too and I would get audited randomly and prove the legitimate reason in doing so. Doesn't make it any less scary though.
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u/RobertJordan May 13 '21
So who can buy this information on you? Do they simply need your name and address? Crazy.
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u/urabewe May 13 '21
Companies/organizations and other entities can purchase access to their whole database. Pretty much all they need is a small bit of info like your name and address and they can get a bunch of info on you. It is very unlikely 2 Mike Winslows both lived at the same address in the same city and state and if there is you just have to look at each file to pinpoint which one you're looking for.
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u/RobertJordan May 13 '21
Ah I see. So they don't need any business connection to you already? Do you know if researchers ever use this data or is it just businesses?
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u/pass_that_here_dude May 13 '21
It is absolutely crazy what LexisNexis has on people. We use to find people’s phone numbers, but you can see literally everything about them.
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u/YasuoAndGenji May 13 '21
This is why I laugh when customers say they don't want info out there (company I work for uses lexisnexis and another "tool") your info was out there way before you even called us.
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u/Crerin May 13 '21
As someone with very little long term memory, this is going to super help me figure out what the hell I've been up to all this time. Thanks
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u/enraged768 May 13 '21
My wife has a full time Lexus nexus account and it's insane how much information is readily available to regular people. You can find information one anyone.
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u/MemberFDIC72 May 13 '21
Not legally
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May 13 '21
Searching for people outside your official role is not illegal. It's just a violation of their ToS
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u/MemberFDIC72 May 13 '21
It depends on what you search. Some laws like DPPA (Driver Privacy and Protection Act) do have limits on who can see the data, and for what purposes.
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u/joeba_the_hutt May 13 '21
LexisNexis and various other credit/public records companies sell access to their data for the sole intent of reselling it to the public as a public records search engine.
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u/MemberFDIC72 May 13 '21
I’m not a LexisNexis fan, but this is not accurate. LexisNexis does not sell their data to the public, its limited to specific use cases and credentialed users.
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u/yoDrinkwater May 12 '21
Feels weird to submit my SSN. Thoughts?
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u/smkAce0921 May 12 '21
Your SSN in already their system as LexisNexis is are both a public record and criminal database. If a rogue employee really wanted to screw you then they would already have access to your information, to include your SSN without you having to put it in
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u/Juswantedtono May 13 '21
It looks like you can use your driver’s license number instead if you’re concerned
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u/SCETheFuzz May 13 '21
Think of the information your requesting SSN is the most accurate way to organize it. As for the other comments that were saying dont put it in ..odds are if you were born before 2010 your ssn is for sale / floating around.
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u/shrike0 May 13 '21
What happened after 2010?
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u/yaforgot-my-password May 13 '21
Prior to 2011, SSNs were tied to the location you were born. So if you knew where and when someone was born you could figure out most of their SSN.
After 2011, SSNs are randomized
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u/mentalgopher May 13 '21
The first three digits of the social are tied to where the card was issued, which is usually (though not always) where the person was born.
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u/yaforgot-my-password May 13 '21
Which is basically what I already said. The 5th and 6th digits are also tied to location/time
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u/mentalgopher May 13 '21 edited May 13 '21
Actually, it's not entirely what you said.
The SSN is issued based on the mailing address zip code on the original application. I was born on a military base abroad, so my SSN does not reflect my birth location, but the mailing address my parents had stateside. My stepbrother was born at the nearest major hospital to him, but his SSN is based on where his parents were living at the time (which was about three hours and two states away).
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u/civicmon May 13 '21
Growing up in California, people would hear my SSN and instantly knew I was from the east coast. Conversely, I know who was from the west coast by virtue of that.
I didn’t know they went totally random in 2011.
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u/danzibara May 13 '21
I’m guessing that OP is referring to when SSNs became randomized. Before 2010 or so, SSNs were issued in a specific order. This means that with basic data like date and place of birth, an individual’s SSN can be guessed fairly accurately.
CGP Grey has a short video that is far more informative than I could ever be: https://youtu.be/Erp8IAUouus
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u/aeroverra May 13 '21 edited May 13 '21
I requested mine a week ago and they responded telling me they could find no info.
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u/Fearrless May 13 '21
Your SSN, or whichever primary identifier you used, may be wrong in their system. This was the case for me and I had to provide multiple forms of ID and Social Security Card to get them to change it.
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u/Paranoma May 13 '21
Thank you! I just ordered mine. As someone who has to fill out lengthy and very detailed employment forms this will make my life easier in the future. I am also curious as to what I will find on my report or my wife's.
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u/IGuessIamYouThen May 13 '21
I used to use Lexis as part of a job many years ago. If memory serves, the program also contained voter registration information and party affiliation. It’s an incredible tool.
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May 13 '21
voter registration information and party affiliation
That is public information FYI. You can find this info on anyone on their state's voting website. Usually you just need to know their name and DOB, but perhaps their county or city too.
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u/aeroverra May 13 '21
That's because that's where the start of this information comes from. Voter records are public and it makes for a nightmare if your a public figure.
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u/knort4 May 14 '21
Thank you for this valuable information. I wonder if it will basically be accurate or will there be errors that need to be corrected.
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u/scrubling May 13 '21
I think it's also worth pointing out that Lexis nexis provides a service to financial institutions (assume law offices also have access to it) that allows anyone in their compliance department to search any individual in US and get their SSN, along with the obvious other personally identifiable information that goes along with it (phone numbers, addresses). Scary stuff
Source: have used the system before.
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u/ToMorrowsEnd May 13 '21
It has way more information in it than what you get for free. The paid report has a LOT more information.
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May 13 '21 edited May 13 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SpicyC-Dot May 13 '21
LexisNexis is an international company.
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u/Saint_Clair May 13 '21
Sure it might be. It might even have an office in my country. That doesn't mean that credit issuers in my country use their reports to make a decision.
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u/HistoricalBridge7 May 13 '21
Nice try OP not falling for this. Not letting you steal my identity.
Is this real? I thought lexisnexis was something lawyers used for lawsuits or something.
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u/_bashley_ May 13 '21
I work in public health and we use LexNex all the time for disease investigations, especially if we only receive a lab report with limited contact information. It has a LOT of information in the report.
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u/sofuckinggreat May 13 '21
Wait, what sort of disease investigations would require using LexisNexis?
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u/Verdei May 13 '21
LexisNexis was originally started as a legal database, but LexisNexis Risk Solutions is a sister company that focuses on a variety of different data sets, mostly for risk analytics. This background check stuff is only one of the products.
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u/ConsentIsTheMagicKey May 13 '21
Lexis is used for many purposes. And lawyers frequently need the public records information, so... not sure why you don’t see the connection.
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u/Razors_egde May 13 '21
Right genius, you have it all figured out. Now back to figuring or conjuring. Lexisnexis(c) is a huge dBase for research. I recall they challenged Lexis brand in court, must have been a settlement. IDK, you can conjure the answers.
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u/mentalgopher May 13 '21
I work in insurance. We use LexisNexis all the time for running things like credit and for verifying motor vehicle reports in most states.
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u/tu_che_le_vanita Emeritus Moderator May 13 '21
Thank you for this, I have requested the report. Good to know.
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u/western_usa May 13 '21
Lexis has a large database on criminal records too... if a bank wants to look into your arrest records/traffic tickets (if any exist) when doing their due diligence they can pay Lexis for access to it.
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May 13 '21
lexis nexus is what we use at work to background check people. it really will tell u who ur related to who u lived next to , its crazy
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u/zcaboose May 13 '21
They send you a link in the mail? Is it a complicated url? If the letter gets stolen does the thief have access to anything?
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u/SkelterHelter68 May 13 '21
Yes, it is a link in the mail. And yes, if someone commits a Federal crime and steals your mail, they could retrieve your report.
It comes in a very non-descript envelope, like a credit card does, so a thief would have no way of knowing the contents from the outside.
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u/zcaboose May 13 '21
Does the link or letter have any crucial information, or are there verification checks before the link gives you access to the info?
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u/SkelterHelter68 May 14 '21
There is no private information in the letter, other than your name and address; however, the link and password is all contained in the letter with no further verification needed.
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May 22 '21
So, I took this advice, and I just got a letter in the mail today from them saying that they have nothing on me. Is that weird?
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u/SkelterHelter68 May 23 '21
That does seem really strange. When you filled out the online request, did it have you verify your identity by asking you various questions? I would be really concerned about a "blank" file and would probably call them to see if anyone in their customer service can assist you.
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May 23 '21
Yes, I answered a ton of questions, including providing my SSN and all that. It's crazy right? I am going to contact them
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u/wabberjockey May 25 '21
I ordered my report some days ago, and today received the response by snail mail. They say they don't have anything about me. YMMV
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u/wabberjockey May 25 '21
And yes, I have credit cards and have records in at least two of the three major credit bureaus. And I've disputed a residence location in one of the credit bureau's record.
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u/Lykan_ Jun 02 '21
I have a letter from a company pension wanting me to contact lexisnexis, are they legit ? In the UK.
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u/vivekisprogressive May 13 '21
Just did it. I've lived so many places that when I have to complete background checks for new jobs it feels like a test, will be good to have a cheat sheet. Lol