Selling Tradelines / Piggybacking Part II: $1000+/hr, 20-40k/yr. Side Gig

[hay_otsuka]

Ymmv on lost stolen , product change more successful for me

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[missundecided]

I've got an add for Capital One with "old" company, my first with them. I did it through the Cap One website a few minutes ago, but how do I confirm that it worked? I don't see anything on my account.

Secondly, on the commission page, it says $125 but nothing about the April bonus. Is that SOP?

[Car Jack]

Seems like I keep seeing "Barklay, Barklay, Barklay" here.  I thought about it.....I have a Barklay I've been using for low balance forgiveness.  Let's check it.  Just turned 2 years last month and at $25k limit.  Added it to the new company.  Let's see if anything happens......

[privatefarmer]

sorry to be a newb, but just found out about this shiznat. why the secrecy w/ regards to the names of the "old"/"new" TL companies? Anyhow if anyone would be so kind as to PM me the names of these companies I'd be much obliged. Would love to get my feet wet. Gracias.

[wudged]

Any updates on the new company regarding timing of payouts?  For February adds, I didn't get paid until 4/13 after begging multiple times.  I still haven't been paid for March adds either but haven't resorted to begging yet...

About the same as it's been since the fall... they're around a month behind (but slowly have caught up), but have always paid everyone. I now just count on a two month lag for those payments. Hopefully it'll be all caught up soon.

Actually got paid yesterday without having to even ask!  Things are looking up... :eyeroll:

[solon]

sorry to be a newb, but just found out about this shiznat. why the secrecy w/ regards to the names of the "old"/"new" TL companies? Anyhow if anyone would be so kind as to PM me the names of these companies I'd be much obliged. Would love to get my feet wet. Gracias.

I'll second this. We use the real first names of the people who work for these companies (Cliff), why don't we just use the companies' names? It's not like these companies don't want to be found out. And it would be easier than saying "new company", NewCo, etc.

[Car Jack]

arebelspy did the research and has worked on our behalf.  Simply PM him and he sends back a PM with all the details about either company.  He does get credit when you sign up using him as a reference.  He's also worked it out so the "old company" gives YOU his referral.  It's the least we can do to thank him for his work. 

[charuhans]

I think it's also because a Google search with the name of the companies will pull up this thread. I guess we don't want that association for obvious reasons.

[charuhans]

Actually got paid yesterday without having to even ask!  Things are looking up... :eyeroll:
[/quote]

Shh... you might jinx it ;) I checked my bank account and mine came in too.

[katsiki]

I think it's also because a Google search with the name of the companies will pull up this thread. I guess we don't want that association for obvious reasons.

+1

Also, personally, I don't want every joker who can use Google finding out about this.  :)

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

I've had one tradeline ($9500 limit, I would guess this is the cheapest option available for buyers) under the new company that has consistently sold slots every month since August 2017 and two cards with higher limits and no sales. I switched those cards to the old company and sold 2 slots this month. Might be worth trying the "old" company (if you're new to them!).

[katsiki]

Ymmv on lost stolen , product change more successful for me

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Thanks.  I will see what the old TL company recommends as well, but I will try PC.

[elysianfields]

Barclays is my favorite. All add/removes done online, never had an issue with one posting, never heard of them doing audits and mass closing accounts.

Just added an AU on Barclays online, but there's no spot on the website to add the AU's SSN - how do you all go about that?  Do you call Barclays, or does it post w/o the SSN?

Cheers,

Elysian 

[arebelspy]

You can call and add the SSN, but I never have. I do add their address as an optional field, to help ensure it posts. (It does not send them a card to that address ever.)

[DavidAnnArbor]

Well I contacted Leslie at the old company about my 3 year old Citicard with only a $7800 credit line and she has yet to get back to me about whether she'll accept that card.

[MoseyingAlong]

Leslie recently told me nothing less than 5 years old.

[ditkanate]

You can call and add the SSN, but I never have. I do add their address as an optional field, to help ensure it posts. (It does not send them a card to that address ever.)

I did that for a Citibank AU and it didn't post.  Maybe it works differently with Barclays for some reason?

[katsiki]

You can call and add the SSN, but I never have. I do add their address as an optional field, to help ensure it posts. (It does not send them a card to that address ever.)

Same experience here.  Never add SSN and they post.  I stopped having cards sent to me too a few months back.  Everything still posts fine.

[arebelspy]

You can call and add the SSN, but I never have. I do add their address as an optional field, to help ensure it posts. (It does not send them a card to that address ever.)

I did that for a Citibank AU and it didn't post.  Maybe it works differently with Barclays for some reason?

Citi may indeed report different info, and if they don't report that, the credit bureaus may not have enough information to connect to the right person, so it may not post.

[DavidAnnArbor]

Leslie recently told me nothing less than 5 years old.

Ok I thought it was posted on here they would accept cards 2 years and older.

[ducky19]

I think they recently made that change due to an influx of cards. They are also opening up to younger cards with lower limits, albeit with a much lower payout scale.

[dakota5176]

Can anyone tell me how they found out that their BOA was shut down?  The card I was selling tradelines on has been declined when I use it but when I check my account it appears to be in good standing with a high credit limit  I also have not received any emails or letters from them.

[BikeFanatic]

RE BOA shutdown, Mine was shut down, charges declined, I believe I then  got a message on the  website when I logged in.
I called over the weekend and they said they would re instate me, but then I received a letter in the mail that they closed my accounts. Maybe wait for the letter?

[Padonak]

RE BOA shutdown, Mine was shut down, charges declined, I believe I then  got a message on the  website when I logged in.
I called over the weekend and they said they would re instate me, but then I received a letter in the mail that they closed my accounts. Maybe wait for the letter?

Did they close all your accounts or just the one you used for tradelines? If all accounts, did you lose your points on other accounts too?

[BikeFanatic]

They closed both my credit cards, I had 3-4 users on each card. I had used up the points allready, I did not have a bank account with them and the cards were not that old..

[DavidAnnArbor]

So do I have this right?  The old company is now using Elan Financial Services credit cards?  For some reason I thought those credit cards weren't able to be used by the tradeline companies, at least the new company didn't seem to be able to use them. Why is the old company now able to?

[arebelspy]

B of A only closes cards you've used AUs on. Not bank accounts, or other cards with them.

The old company has been able to use Elan for about a year or year and a half.

[dragoncar]

So discover credited my rewards to my card on the statement after the statement in which they closed my account

Now waiting to see how long it takes to get a check

[MasterStache]

Leslie recently told me nothing less than 5 years old.

Ok I thought it was posted on here they would accept cards 2 years and older.

Might have changed but they accepted a card roughly 2 years old from me. Of course no spots have been sold and I expect none will. On the other hand, mine and my wife's other 2 cards that are 10+ years old are filling up.

[HipGnosis]

So do I have this right?  The old company is now using Elan Financial Services credit cards?  For some reason I thought those credit cards weren't able to be used by the tradeline companies, at least the new company didn't seem to be able to use them. Why is the old company now able to?

Where did you read that they can/do?

[katsiki]

I contacted old TL company when ARS indicated that they take elan cards.  She said that they are not taking cards less than 5 years old BUT they would take this one because of few elan cards.  So, YMMV.

[secondcor521]

Added an AU yesterday to my Barclay's card.  Everything went smoothly.  This is my seventh AU on this card since 1/1/17.

Got a message today from a Barclay's security analyst wanting me to verify some recent activity on my account and gave me a toll free number to call back.

Do you think the AU will post if I don't call back?  I'm inclined not to call.

[elysianfields]

You can call and add the SSN, but I never have. I do add their address as an optional field, to help ensure it posts. (It does not send them a card to that address ever.)

Thanks @arebelspy  & @katsiki , we'll see how it goes.  Cheers!

[BikeFanatic]

Secondcor, I would call them they just want to verify purchases that has happened to me before.
However if the charges are fraudulent, then they will have to shut the card down. But they will re issue a new card and likley reissue to your AU a new card as well.

[secondcor521]

Secondcor, I would call them they just want to verify purchases that has happened to me before.
However if the charges are fraudulent, then they will have to shut the card down. But they will re issue a new card and likley reissue to your AU a new card as well.

Thanks.  I checked with New Company and that's what they said too.  I did make a charge about the same time I added this AU.  I thought maybe they'd start asking tough questions about my AU history that I hadn't really thought through how to handle.

[bernardnb]

So discover credited my rewards to my card on the statement after the statement in which they closed my account

Now waiting to see how long it takes to get a check

Shouldn't take "too long", guessing about a month.  My card got shutdown on March 8th and had the check with my remaining bonus around April 12th or 13th.

[lexde]

I’m with old company and just got my first sale! I don’t see the AU’s SSN/DOB though, where do I find that on the website? I just see their full name.

[ditkanate]

I’m with old company and just got my first sale! I don’t see the AU’s SSN/DOB though, where do I find that on the website? I just see their full name.

There should be a shaded square showing your card details above where it lists your Order History.  I have 2 cards listed with them so i have 2 shaded squares. 
_____________________
| Lender: Citibank           |
| Limit: $15,000              |
| Statement Date: 15th    |
|Date Opened: 8/1/2008  |
|Spots Sold: 1 of 2          |
-----------------------------

There should be a red triangle in the upper right corner of that box.  When you click it the AU info pops up.  Took me a bit to figure that out too. 

[lexde]

@ditkanate — thanks!


I feel weird about adding my AU. His name seems fake and he’s 70 years old. I ran a background check just out of curiosity and only his current address shows up.

It looks like this is probably a fake person. :-/ I have never had such a scarce pull from my background checks even for undocumented non residents...

[Padonak]

@lexde, what web sites do you use for background checks?

[arebelspy]

That's weird.

Definitely don't add them if you aren't comfortable.

I'd contact the tradeline company and ask what verification they did. It may just be an old person who never had much use for credit before, but now wants to boost their credit to do a reverse mortgage or something. They likely have talked with the AU.

[lexde]

@lexde, what web sites do you use for background checks?

Westlaw.

Edited to add: typical results are +/- 30-70 pages depending on age, moves, bankruptcies, criminal or civil records, etc. This one was 2-3 lines with name and current address.

[lexde]

That's weird.

Definitely don't add them if you aren't comfortable.

I'd contact the tradeline company and ask what verification they did. It may just be an old person who never had much use for credit before, but now wants to boost their credit to do a reverse mortgage or something. They likely have talked with the AU.

Thanks. I’ll reach out and ask!

[katsiki]

I have had a couple of older folks.  Oldest was 89, I think.  It all worked out (so far anyway!)

You may not want to mention the westlaw lookup.  That may violate your agreement or theirs.

[lexde]

I have had a couple of older folks.  Oldest was 89, I think.  It all worked out (so far anyway!)

You may not want to mention the westlaw lookup.  That may violate your agreement or theirs.

Well yeah. I wasn’t going to say exactly what I did just that I had some concerns. But it should be fine, I added them so we will see how it goes.

[secondcor521]

@ditkanate — thanks!


I feel weird about adding my AU. His name seems fake and he’s 70 years old. I ran a background check just out of curiosity and only his current address shows up.

It looks like this is probably a fake person. :-/ I have never had such a scarce pull from my background checks even for undocumented non residents...

Can you be more specific?  (Obviously without giving the AU name publicly.)

[beekayworld]

Westlaw.

Edited to add: typical results are +/- 30-70 pages depending on age, moves, bankruptcies, criminal or civil records, etc. This one was 2-3 lines with name and current address.

Maybe he's a new immigrant to the country.

[lexde]

Westlaw.

Edited to add: typical results are +/- 30-70 pages depending on age, moves, bankruptcies, criminal or civil records, etc. This one was 2-3 lines with name and current address.

Maybe he's a new immigrant to the country.

That's my guess at this point. :-)

[robartsd]

Potentially not even a real person.  Synthetic identity fraud is a real thing.

https://frankonfraud.com/fraud-trends/is-credit-repair-fueling-the-rise-in-synthetic-id-fraud/

short answer: Some (lots?) of these tradeline buyers aren't real people at all.  They're fake identities created with fake numbers, which then use tradelines to artificially inflate their credit scores, then they take out huge loans and credit debts which they then promptly default on.  It's a scam, and we're all supporting it.  Ask the FBI:  https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newark/press-releases/2013/eighteen-people-charged-in-international-200-million-credit-card-fraud-scam

Alternately, some of these "credit repair" companies are doing what they call "file segregation" for a client, which is basically the same thing except there's a real person behind it who wants to keep their new fake credit profile clean instead of cashing out and burning it.  They change the IDs enough to generate a second credit report for the same individual, but in order to get the second profile up and running they need to buy your credit payment history (your tradeline) so that the new profile isn't worthless to them.  Details:  https://nacso.org/news/credit-scams-avoid/

Looks like the only thing that is real for someone involved in Synthetic ID Fraud is their name and age. According to the article Sol linked, to the process involves finding a SSN that has no credit report yet (most likely issued to a child) then applying for credit using that number to create a new credit file. For this to work nothing on the application should link back to the real credit file (by using phone number, email address, mailing address that has never been previously associated with the person's name and the false SSN). Creates a nice clean credit file which piggybacking fills with a credit history.

@arebelspy can you explain what measures the recommended companies use to prevent sales to someone trying to use this process to "rebuild" their credit?

[arebelspy]

@arebelspy can you explain what measures the recommended companies use to prevent sales to someone trying to use this process to "rebuild" their credit?

Unfortunately I can't share details, because much of what I've been told is proprietary, but suffice it to say, these two companies are the only ones I've found with measures that I personally found comforting (both in what techniques are done, and in how they document and preserve this in case a future investigation/audit occurs) versus all the others I looked in to. Many don't do much, if anything, sadly; they don't care about facilitating fraud, or leaving their cardholders exposed to risk.

If you are interested in this though, you should definitely reach out to them individually and ask about it, they are willing to share (I just can't share for them). Hope that makes sense. :)

Still, their success rate won't be 100% on catching this stuff (which again is where their procedures and documentation is important, because if something DOES slip through, having proof that you do try to stop fraud and aren't purposefully facilitating fraud is important), which is why I always encourage people not to add an AU if you feel uncomfortable with it, and to reach out to the company to let them know why, in case they need to do more in that particular case.