Your Social Media Activity, Now becomes the Make it or Break it For a Loan.
At a young age our parents have always warned us, ” be careful what you post on the internet.” Making sure we didn’t post inappropriate pictures, attach personal information (address, phone #, etc.), or say something that could be taken out of context.
As we have gotten older we have been warned from every other mentor, boss, future employer, and professor to keep our personal lives off of our social media pages. Especially if we wanted a chance at having a future career, seeing as how many companies turn to social media to learn more about the ” real” person they are considering hiring.
Now it seems social media has taken on a new roll. Banks are using social media to scan future loan prospects to learn more about the personal lives these people don’t normally expose. They are able to see where the money is really going, where it is coming from, and if that person really does have the house and profession they claim to.
Banks state that social media can not be the only factor in a person being denied for a loan, but it can be one of the required four points when being turned away. “If a bank representative sees a tweet from a customer — such as one about a job loss — that raises eyebrows, he would probably inquire further. But the bank would not make a lending decision based on a tweet alone”, said Nessa Feddis.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires lenders to tell people why they have been denied for a loan. Because of this act, it is making lenders more and more hesitant to use social media as a guide.
Do we call this ethical? Do banks really have the right to dig into our personal lives to decide on such paramount matters?
YOLO 