Most Americans carefully guard the details of their paychecks, sharing this information with only the boss, the spouse and the Internal Revenue Service.
'It's critically important that we do all of the right things to protect the data,' said Stacey Simpson, The Work Number's president.
ARE YOU ON FILE?
• To find out if The Work Number's database includes information about your employment history and to review that information, call The Work Number's customer service department at 1-800-367-2884. The Work Number also takes consumer complaints at this number.
• To find out more about The Work Number, go to
www.theworknumber.com.
• To file an official complaint about any consumer reporting agency or data broker, contact the Federal Trade Commission at
www.ftc.gov or 1-877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357).
But these days, someone else is in on the secret.
The Work Number, a little-known product of Atlanta-based Equifax, captures the salaries and job titles of 46 million Americans every time they collect a paycheck. That represents about a third of the American workforce.
For the past decade, The Work Number has been warehousing and selling this information to lenders and employers who want to verify incomes or conduct background checks.
Dozens of large Georgia employers send their employment information to The Work Number, including Coca-Cola, UPS, Home Depot, Delta Air Lines, Georgia-Pacific, Georgia Power and Emory University.
Even if you've never heard of The Work Number, chances are good that it has heard about you.
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