Equifax is a multinational American consumer credit reporting agency that is among the top three consumer credit reporting agencies. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Nestled on 39 acres of mature hardwoods, the Cator Woolford Gardens are situated on one of the few remaining intact historic estates in Metropolitan Atlanta and are located just a few miles from the heart of downtown. The origins of these gardens date back to the 1920's and was once home to Cator Woolford himself - one of the leading founders of what we know today as Equifax. Failed to report flower. Equifax Inc. is the largest consumer credit bureau in the United States, providing information about consumers to clients in several industries, including insurance, finance, credit card, banking, retail, and telecommunications. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Heres a look at how the Atlanta-based company grew into the credit reporting giant that it is today. Founded by brothers Cator and Guy Woolford, each got their start in the credit business as grocers, where they compiled lists of customers based on their creditworthiness. ). 28. Retail Credit changed its name in 1979 to Equifax Inc., derived from "equitable factual information." One of the country's top credit-reporting agencies, Equifax is one of Georgia's most profitable companies. Inception The agency was founded by two brothers Guy and Cator Woolford, in 1899. [62], On October 13, 2017, the attack was revealed to have been performed by hijacking third-party analytics JavaScript from Digital River brand FireClick. [42], Equifax also offers fraud prevention products based on device fingerprinting such as "FraudIQ Authenticate Device. Having already moved into check verification and credit card processing in the early 1990s, Equifax diversified again in 1992 through the acquisition of Health Economics Corporation, which moved the company into the field of healthcare information. The Retail Credit Company continued to expand, going public in 1965 and (with other credit agencies) coming under Federal Trade Commission oversight in 1971. Leaving the direct-marketing business enhanced Equifax's public image without too much sacrifice; the relinquished activities provided only $12 million, or one percent of Equifax's revenues. In 1904 a fourth office was opened in Kansas City, Missouri. By 1944 the volume of reports produced had sunk to six million. Equifax is the oldest and largest credit bureau in existence today. (to see if you were a victim of this hack, please. For instance, in 1908 the company began issuing reports for automobile liability insurers. In 1934, he co-founded the short-lived Correct Address Company, with Edwin K. Large . Verify and try again. In the first full year of U.S. military involvement, the company lost 1,200 workers. Best practices of the day recommended institutionalization. Oops, something didn't work. Your support helps us commission new entries and update existing content. Equifax Inc. is an American multinational consumer credit reporting agency headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is one of the three largest consumer credit reporting agencies, along with Experian and TransUnion (together known as the "Big Three"). During the second half of 1998 Equifax purchased an 80 percent stake in Segurana ao Crdito e Informaes, the leading financial information company in Brazil; a 59 percent controlling stake in Unnisa-Solues em Meios de Pagamento Ltda., Brazil's leading credit card processing firm; and a 34 percent interest in Proceda Tecnologia e Informtica S.A., the second largest outsourcer of information technology in Brazil. The enterprise was newly christened the Retail Credit Company, Inc., on December 29, 1913. [17], In February 2016, Equifax acquired the Australasian company Veda, the largest credit reference agency in Australia at the time. "[67], The company was charged with rewarding its employees for collecting negative information on consumers in the 1970s. In addition to formation of a technology division, brought about by the consolidation of the company's activities in that field, Equifax also acquired Telecredit, Inc., a Los Angeles credit bureau that provided check and credit card authorization services, for $457 million in 1990. Learn more about managing a memorial . Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. [47], According to Bloomberg, a person familiar with the breach believed this early-March intrusion may have been carried out by the same party that breached Equifax's computer systems again in May. Beautiful, intimate, and all-inclusive. Copyright 2018 Key Credit Repair. [77] An Equifax "spokesperson told the Post-Dispatch that Equifax blocked the Heartland account information from appearing on Haman's credit report after a reporter's inquiry. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. By 1937 nearly three quarters of all the company's inspection forms were being filled out by full-time investigators, operating out of 96 Retail Credit offices in cities across North America. In 1899 Cator and Guy Woolford, two brothers from Woolford, Maryland, began operations as the Retail Credit Company in Atlanta. Cator Woolford Gardens, situated in the Frazer Center, was originally designed for Cator Woolford, one of the founders of Equifax Inc. They were originally founded in 1898, 70 years before the creation of Trans Union. St. James Press, 1999. In March 1930 Retail Credit established the Georgia Credit Exchange to provide services in cities across the state. [77][78] A Heartland Bank spokesperson said the bank "immediately investigated and contacted the credit reporting agencies after Haman reported" she was still alive. Cator actually got the idea from his grocery business, where they collected customers' names and evidence of credit worthiness. The company also developed its first form containing questions relating to fire insurance. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Market Value. During this time, Equifax also continued to spend heavily on technological developments for the purpose of keeping data-processing equipment up to date and offering new products to customers with the equipment. There he supervised the compilation of a list of customers, with indications of their creditworthiness, for the local Retail Grocer's Association." This episode of our daily podcast, The Outline World Dispatch was all about the Equifax breach. The settlement includes up to $425 million to help people affected by the data breach. Other failings were on the exposure of American salary data, and website malware. Equifax was founded in 1898 by two brothers, Cator and Guy Woolford. They started their credit investigations by going door-to-door among merchants, asking about their customers and noting the findings in ledgers. After a month the task had grown so large that two additional men were hired to assist the Woolfords, and one week later a woman was employed as well. [29][30][31], By September 2019, however, Equifax had added qualifications and "hurdles" to its claims process which put in doubt whether the previously announced cash settlement of $125 per affected consumer would actually be awarded. Reese, Krista. Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland, USA. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Where would you like to work? If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. The law also restricted the kinds of information credit bureaus could sell. In October 2010, Equifax announced it was acquiring Anakam, an identity verification software company headquartered in San Diego, California, which invented and pioneered SMS (text-message based) two-factor authentication. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Equifax Inc. [46], On September 18, 2017, Bloomberg News reported that Equifax had been the victim of a "major breach of its computer systems" in March 2017, and that in early March it had begun "notifying a small number of outsiders and banking customers" about this attack. The agency agreed to a global settlement in January 2020 with different institutions like the Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, and 50 U.S. states and territories. In 1973, in one sign of its giant growth, Retail Credit Company again faced off against the Federal Trade Commission, this time for monopolistic practices. [16] Certegy effectively became a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial as a result of this reverse acquisition merger (See Certegy and Fidelity National Information Services for further information).[16]. based on information from your browser. Photograph of Cator Woolford, who, with his brother Guy, started the Retail Credit Company, the precursor to Equifax, in Atlanta, Georgia. [46], "I didn't have to do anything fancy," the researcher told Motherboard, explaining that the site was vulnerable to a basic "forced browsing" bug. [71] In her lawsuit, Miller alleged Equifax had merged her credit reports with another person with a different Social Security number, date of birth, and address. Name. They said they could have downloaded the data of all of Equifax's customers in 10 minutes: "I've seen a lot of bad things, but not this bad. During this time, Retail Credit also took its first steps toward automation, converting files written on 3x5 index cards to electronic data systems. CFO of Equifax John Gamble is the Chief Financial Officer at Equifax and is responsible for all financial functions, including corporate finance, investor relations, accounting, audit, tax and treasury, as well as global procurement, real estate, and the Equifax shared service center in Costa Rica. [50] The data from the breach has yet to be seen on black markets or the dark web by security experts, making it difficult to identify the origin of the breach. With only seven branch offices in operation, Retail Credit proclaimed that it provided a "National Inspection Service," providing reliable reports of uniform quality for insurance purposes. The U.S. entry into World War II had a serious impact on Retail Credit's business. Equifax. Armed with a form showing the information that would be provided about each potential customer, the salesman pulled in a large number of new clients. Cator Woolford (1869-1944), Atlanta businessman, civic leader and philanthropist, founded the Retail Credit Company (the precursor to Equifax) in 1899. By 1920, it had numerous branch offices throughout the United States and Canada, and became a publicly owned corporation in 1965. 1899: The Woolfords moved to Atlanta with the goal of making credit reporting their new career. Learn more about merges. Cator is buried in Woolford. In 2010 Equifax bought an identity verification software company Anakam, which was headquartered in San Diego, California. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Cator Ringgold Woolford I found on Findagrave.com. [46] Moreover, the employee portal was reportedly not the same server targeted in the later breaches, which Motherboard speculates may suggest multiple breaches by more than one party may have occurred. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. This number contains a $380,500,000 consumer restitution fund, part of the class action lawsuit. Drag images here or select from your computer for Cator Ringgold Woolford memorial. Renamed REACH in 1989 and the Frazer Center in 1999, the vision to offer research-based education, vocational support, and therapeutic intervention to children and adults with developmental disabilities remains intact. The company posted a loss of $2,242. [36], On 2 August 2022, a week after its CEO Mark Begor was deemed "uniquely qualified to lead the Company" and was granted a $25 million bonus package by Equifax's board, the Wall Street Journal reported that Equifax had sent millions of incorrectly calculated credit scores to lenders. Over the years, the agency has faced several challenges, their biggest one being security failings. [37][38] Equifax acknowledged reporting inaccurate credit scores, but insisted the errors had affected only a few people. There was a consent decree. The companys name was changed to Equifax in 1976, perhaps, some thought, to counter the lingering memory of the companys brushes with government regulators. [19], In September 2017, Equifax announced a cyber-security breach, which it claims to have occurred between mid-May and July 2017,[20] where cybercriminals accessed approximately 145.5 million U.S. Equifax consumers' personal data, including their full names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and driver license numbers. 1930: The Retail Credit Company has 81 branch offices throughout North America. [79], On November 4, 2017, it was reported that a group of five Oklahomans had sued the company, claiming that Equifax "violated laws which require financial institutions to protect the security of their customers' personal information. The company's retail credit reporting activities were restricted to the Atlanta area, while insurance activities were delegated a wider scope. In 1934, he co-founded the short-lived Correct Address Company, with Edwin K. Large . (ChoicePoint and Equifax did not then, nor do they now, share information or any relationship.). Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, Statutory and Executive Boards and Commissions, Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter. Expanded into Insurance-Related Business in 1901. The agency has an operating income of $900 million, and its net income was estimated to be $600.1 million last year. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy, We have a credit expert available right now to take your call. Failed to delete memorial. In addition, the company hoped to avoid the expensive class action suits over its activities that competitors had suffered. By the end of the company's second decade of existence, Retail Credit was thoroughly established as a significant partner in the life insurance business. "With his brother Guy, Cator Woolford started the Retail Credit Company, the precursor to Equifax. The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. The company claims to have discovered evidence of the cybercrime event on July 29, 2017. . They were originally founded in 1898, 70 years before the creation of the Trans Union. Four months later, the company spent $9 million to open an elaborate consumer services center which provided information to callers about their credit file in eight languages. Equifax was forced to confront growing consumer hostility in the early 1990s, as watchdog groups contended that credit bureaus' files were often inaccurate and were used in inappropriate ways. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Another achievement is being named a Top Technology Provider, Top Workplace, and it was the winner of the InformationWeek Elite 100, among many others. Cator Woolford (1869-1944) moved to Georgia and formed a credit bureau there with his brother Guy. Equifax (EFX) has a Smart Score of 9 based on an analysis of 8 unique data sets, including Analyst Recommendations, Crowd Wisdom, and Hedge Fund Activity. This is a carousel with slides. In 1948, Anne Lane was searching for a program for her daughter Anita, who had cerebral palsy. Today's Change. Nevertheless, after the company pledged to monitor its procedures more carefully, the government halted its investigation. Privacy Policy. Who Is The Founder Of Equifax? Following these failings, Equifax has faced several lawsuits as well as fines over the years. [citation needed] Business customers include retailers, insurance firms, healthcare providers, utilities, government agencies, as well as banks, credit unions, personal and specialty finance companies and other financial institutions. [41], Equifax primarily operates in the business-to-business sector, selling consumer credit and insurance reports and related analytics to businesses in a range of industries. Additionally, in the late 1940s he served as a trustee of the Fernbank Science Center and helped to acquire property that would ensure a buffer for the pristine Fernbank Forest in DeKalb County. Here's Why You Should Go for It", "Think You've Got Your Credit Freezes Covered? In an effort to focus on payment services, credit reporting, and risk management services, Equifax sold its healthcare information business in 1996, just four years after entering the field; then in the following year Equifax spun off its insurance information services group, which had been a part of the company for nearly as long as credit reporting had been. Founder of the Retail Credit Company of Atlanta, Ga., now Equifax, one of the three major credit-rating agencies in the US. This beautiful garden underwent major renovations in 1996 and 2017. Cooper Sanchez, an artist, gardener, and designer, has used his magical skills to convert the Cator Woodford Garden to a popular event venue in Atlanta. With the 1993 acquisition of Integratec Inc., Equifax gained a leading provider of debt collection and other back-office services for credit card issuers and other lenders. Frazer Center is tucked away on 39 acres of old-growth forest in the heart of Atlanta. In 1989 Equifax had commissioned a poll that showed that 71 percent of all Americans thought they had lost control over information concerning their lives and 79 percent considered privacy a basic right. In 1975 the agency changed its name from Retail Credit Company to Equifax. Cator Woolford, Co-Founder Guy Woolford, Co-Founder Equifax Board Members Mark Begor, Director Elane B. The business soon became very successful. [85][86] Equifax ultimately reached a settlement with regulators for up to $700 million. 0 cemeteries found in Woolford, Dorchester County, Maryland, USA. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Try again later. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? This changed in 1999 when the agency started offering services to credit consumer sectors. 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