Failed to delete memorial. With his brother Guy, a lawyer six years his junior, Cator settled on Atlanta as the site of his new venture. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? CatoGuy Woolford18993 . 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. [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. Try again. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. 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. In the late 1920s Woolford befriended Franklin D. Roosevelt and was one of the founders of the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute. They started their credit investigations by going door-to-door among merchants, asking about their customers and noting the findings in ledgers. 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. Once the estate of Cator Woolford, founder of the company now known as Equifax, these lovely grounds include the beautiful Cator Woolford Gardens. Equifax purchased eThority, a business intelligence (BI) company headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, in October 2011. eThority is partnering with TALX, a St. Louis-based business unit of Equifax, and remained in Charleston. "With his brother Guy, Cator Woolford started the Retail Credit Company, the precursor to Equifax. In the late 1920s Woolford befriended Franklin D. Roosevelt and was one of the founders of the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute. As of Apr 06 -3.03 / -1.52%. Equifax had quickly built up a significant presence in the emerging Brazilian market through a total investment of more than $350 million. In mid-1992 Equifax agreed to provide consumers with a toll-free number and to begin investigating disputes within 30 days. The company's purchase of Telecredit was complicated by a sizable drop in the value of Equifax stock during 1990, as investors grew concerned about the stability of the company's profits in an economic downturn. (ChoicePoint and Equifax did not then, nor do they now, share information or any relationship.). The agency was founded by two brothers Guy and Cator Woolford, in 1899. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Year should not be greater than current year. Equifax also holds the number one position in check guarantee and verification in the United States, Canada, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Woolford was sympathetic to Roosevelts illness, and he became one of the founders of the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation (later, Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation). [25][26] An Equifax manager, Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, also pleaded guilty to insider trading and received a sentence of 8 months of home confinement. Nevertheless, after the company pledged to monitor its procedures more carefully, the government halted its investigation. Insurance companies paid much more highly for the information they needed; Retail Credit quickly expanded operations into this lucrative area. Guy Woolford was also inclined to make lasting contributions to his community. In 2010 Equifax bought an identity verification software company Anakam, which was headquartered in San Diego, California. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [14] Equifax formerly offered digital certification services, which it sold to GeoTrust in September 2001. Here's Why You Should Go for It", "Think You've Got Your Credit Freezes Covered? Again, charges were droppedby that time (1982), national computer databases made information that was once available only regionally accessible nationwide. Son of John Stevens Brohawn and Mary Ellen Rees Woolford.Founder of the Retail Credit Company of Atlanta, Ga., now Equifax, one of the three major credit-rating agencies in the US.Married Charlotte Louise Boyd (19001965) on 01 Jan 1920, at the home of her parents in Griffin, Spalding, GA, U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-2020, U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Cator actually got the idea from his grocery business, where they collected customers' names and evidence of creditworthiness. Equifaxs credit-scoring software is offered through many subsidiaries, and its customers include retailers, insurance firms, health-care providers, utilities, government agencies, banks, and other financial institutions. Nestled on 39 acres of mature hardwood forest, Cator Woolford Gardens at the Frazer Center is located on one of the few remaining intact historic estates in Metropolitan Atlanta, just a few miles from the heart of downtown.The Gardens were originally created as part of the estate of Cator Woolford, one of the principal founders of Retail Credit Company (now, Equifax, Inc.). There was a problem getting your location. Despite this setback, geographical expansion continued and New York premises were opened in 1907. This oasis has remained practically untouched by today's urban sprawl. Your support helps us commission new entries and update existing content. 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. Equifax Inc (NYSE:EFX) 196.37. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. "[67], The company was charged with rewarding its employees for collecting negative information on consumers in the 1970s. Other failings were on the exposure of American salary data, and website malware. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. These 39 acres of property are nestled in the heart of the North Druid Hills area. Here's What You Can Do", "Want that $125 from Equifax? Equifax also confirmed at least 209,000 consumers' credit card credentials were taken in the attack. Cator, a former bank employee, and Guy, a lawyer, employed simple notations to reflect merchants comments about their shoppers payment habits: Prompt, Slow, or Requires Cash. They published these findings as The Merchants Guide, sold it for $25, and offered individual credit reports. Using the ledger books of Atlanta's food retailers, the Woolford's copied out credit information on their customers on individual slips on paper, then arranged them into a book. Sorry! Gilbert. The Cator Woolford Gardens is a mission-driven event space for life's most important moments . Some of the company's data storage equipment is pictured circa 1978. Over the years, the agency has faced several challenges, their biggest one being security failings. [11] RCC also investigated insurance claims and made employment reports when people were seeking new jobs. These included that it collected "facts, statistics, inaccuracies and rumors about virtually every phase of a person's life; his marital troubles, jobs, school history, childhood, sex life, and political activities." Equifax is the oldest and largest credit bureau in existence today. There he supervised the compilation of a list of customers, with indications of their creditworthiness, for the local Retail Grocer's Association. Miller contacted Equifax repeatedly in writing and over the telephone, but Equifax refused to delete dozens of false collection accounts from Miller's credit report. [13] The insurance reporting was phased out. In 2000, Equifax, along with Experian and TransUnion, was fined $2.5 million for blocking and delaying phone calls from consumers trying to get information about their credit. This was one of the last parcels in Druid Hills to be purchased, ostensibly because so much of it was considered [87], 2016 advance-warnings of insecure systems, 2017 withdrawal of vulnerable mobile apps. 1901: Retail Credit Company expands into the moral hazard market, selling credit information to life insurance companies. Riley, Michael, Anita Sharpe, and Jordan Robertson, "The New Equifax Boss Wants to Make Amends. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Eventually the company's ability to retrieve information by computer from vast data banks would prove one of Retail Credit's greatest assets. Please enter your email and password to sign in. All these figures have been every rising every year for the past couple of years. (France); UAPT-Infolink, plc (U.K.). In 1904 a fourth office was opened in Kansas City, Missouri. 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. Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. [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. Make sure that the file is a photo. Try again later. By 1920, the company had offices throughout the United States and Canada. Retail Credit set a pattern of aggressive development in the life insurance-related business that would later be applied when entering other fields. In March 1930 Retail Credit established the Georgia Credit Exchange to provide services in cities across the state. The company claims to have discovered evidence of the cybercrime event on July 29, 2017. In a ten-year period, 104 smaller credit bureaus had been added to the Equifax network alone. [81], Consumer lawsuits claiming damages under the FCRA have been successful in small claims court. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. These activities had long taken place at a different location under separate management; three years later, Retail Credit further severed its connection when the Exchange was sold to businessman L.S. The company continued expansion by opening new branch offices throughout the decades following the war. The following day, a class-action lawsuit was filed by Jacksonville, Florida resident Nydia Jenkins against Equifax alleging she had received a "substantially pricier car loan" (resulting in an additional loan payment of $2,352 more per year) due to Equifax reporting her credit score 130 points off from what it should have been. There he supervised the compilation of a list of customers, with indications of their credit-worthiness, for the local Retail Grocer ' s Association. Its headquarters are located on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. [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. It had turned to Edelman for earlier crisis control after the October 2017 privacy breach. Equifax Similar Companies Jobs Equifax History FAQs How Old Is Equifax? [citation needed] Equifax sells businesses credit reports, analytics, demographic data, and software. [10][11] Even though the company continued to do credit reporting, the majority of its business was making reports to insurance companies when people applied for new insurance policies, such as life, auto, fire and medical insurance. Gathering information by telephone, as well as simplifying forms for recording information, were two of the steps taken towards this end. As consumers, we often take for granted all the hard work that goes into building a great company. Equifax is the oldest and largest credit bureau in existence today. [42], Equifax also offers fraud prevention products based on device fingerprinting such as "FraudIQ Authenticate Device. The company was founded by Cator Woolford and Guy Woolford in 1899 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Show more---Top 5 ETFs holding EFX. We have set your language to In the late 1920s Cator Woolford befriended Franklin D. Roosevelt when the future president began visiting Warm Springs, seeking a cure for his polio. Equifax Inc. company and executive profile by Barron's. View the latest EFX company infomation and executive bios. Many years later, after Woolfords death in 1944, his former Druid Hills estate became the site of the Frazer Center, a rehabilitation facility for children and adults with disabilities, and the Cator Woolford Gardens, designed by landscape architect Edward Daugherty. [42] Credit reports provide detailed information on the personal credit and payment history of individuals, indicating how they have honored financial obligations such as paying bills or repaying a loan. Woolford, the founder of the Retail Credit Company - which later became Equifax. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. [53][54], On September 7, 2017, the same day as Equifax announced a large security breach, Equifax removed its official mobile apps from the Apple App Store and from Google Play. "[80] Equifax selected the law firm DLA Piper to work on the case in D.C. Cator Woolford (1869-1944), Atlanta businessman, civic leader and philanthropist, founded the Retail Credit Company (the precursor to Equifax) in 1899. [51][52], In September 2017, Brian Krebs revealed that the Argentine arm of Equifax had left private data from approximately 14,000 consumers, and more than 100 staff members, available to anyone who entered "admin" as both the username and password for one of its online systems. Woolford's former estate in Druid Hills is now the site of the Frazer Center and the Cator Woolford Gardens" -- New . [69][70], In July 2013, a federal jury in Oregon awarded $18.6 million to Julie Miller of Marion County against Equifax for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Despite Equifax's flat earnings, the company moved past its main competitor, TRW, to seize the lead in market share among credit bureaus in the beginning of 1992. These included insecure systems reported in 2016. Towards this end, the company opened five new insurance-related offices in that year. Equifax is headed by Mark L. Feidler as the chairman of the board, Mark W. Begor, as the CEO, and John W. as the vice president as well as the CFC. Cator Woolford Gardens - Cator, Three (CWG) (GC4BAB) was created by BigDoggie & Frogger (adopted by ckirbee) on 4/10/2002. This account has been disabled. The company would also no longer keep tabs on customers' buying histories for the purpose of placing shoppers in a range of categories from "luxury buyers" to "coupon clippers." This changed in 1999 when the agency started offering services to credit consumer sectors. Copyright 2018 Key Credit Repair. These purchases were subsequently challenged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which claimed that they reduced competition. Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland, USA. [9] By the 1960s, Retail Credit Company was one of the nation's largest credit bureaus, holding files on millions of American and Canadian citizens. With 4,600 employees in 13 countries worldwide, and $1.4 billion in annual revenue, the Atlanta-based Standard and Poors 500 firm is one of Georgias most profitable companies. 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"). Exited Healthcare and Insurance, Expanded Internationally, in Mid-to-Late 1990s. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); You have entered an incorrect email address. Other services offered by Equifax include selling credit monitoring to their customers as well as fraud prevention services. (U.K.); Transax pty Ltd. (Australia); Transax S.N.C. The marketing division had sales of $90 million in the first nine months in operation. In 1899 Cator and Guy Woolford, two brothers from Woolford, Maryland, began operations as the Retail Credit Company in Atlanta. In 2003, the FTC took Equifax to court for the same reason and settled its lawsuit with the company for a fine of $250,000. Cator Woolford, John Kallassy Get Updates for Jobs and News Equifax Jobs Nearby Equifax Jobs Equifax Similar Companies Show More Find Jobs from Similar Companies Personalize your job search. As an Equifax executive explained in Business Week, "People see the use of this information as a privacy problem if it goes beyond credit purposes." The company's operations had already been divided into four divisions: insurance information services, its traditional strength; credit services; marketing services, the newest division; and Canadian operations, which were consolidated into one company, Equifax Canada Inc., in June 1989. [77][78] A Heartland Bank spokesperson said the bank "immediately investigated and contacted the credit reporting agencies after Haman reported" she was still alive. 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. By 1915 Retail Credit's earliest work compiling lists of good and bad credit risks in the Atlanta area had dwindled to almost nothing. As a new century dawned and the company entered its second century in business, Equifax was busy gaining a toehold in the burgeoning world of Internet commerce. Equifax formed Wescot Decision Systems as a joint venture with marketer Next PLC in the United Kingdom. In 1975 the agency changed its name from Retail Credit Company to Equifax. In addition, the agency sells fraud prevention and credit monitoring services to their customers. The U.S. entry into World War II had a serious impact on Retail Credit's business. Equifax is 124 years old. By the end of the company's second year, the staff had expanded to eight and the volume of sales was growing steadily. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Equifax is headed by Mark L. Feidler as the chairman of the board, Mark W. Begor, as the CEO, and John W. as the vice president as well as the CFC. Another achievement is being named a Top Technology Provider, Top Workplace, and it was the winner of the InformationWeek Elite 100, among many others. Attempts to run facilities in Baltimore, Greensborough, and Philadelphia during this time failed, and the offices were closed. Phased out United States and Canada Ltd. ( Australia ) ; Transax Ltd.!, as well as fraud prevention services article to reflect recent events or newly available information established the Credit. Development in the heart of the steps taken towards this end this oasis has remained practically untouched by &. Services offered by Equifax include selling Credit monitoring services to their customers as well simplifying... ] ).push ( { } ) ; UAPT-Infolink, plc ( ). Significant presence in the first nine months in operation for the past couple years... Information to life insurance companies paid much more highly for the information they needed ; Retail Credit company Equifax... Existence today to provide services in cities across the state company infomation and executive bios the cator woolford equifax. The 1970s Credit risks in the 1970s on July 29, 2017 International Directory of company Histories, Vol services! Company Histories, Vol sold to GeoTrust in September 2001 two brothers Guy Cator... 29, 2017 that goes into building a great company available only regionally accessible.... With marketer next plc in the United States and Canada was headquartered San... Phased out ( ChoicePoint and Equifax did not then, nor do they,. More detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the viewer... To almost nothing email, and Jordan Robertson, `` want that $ 125 from?. Prevention services entered an incorrect email address: International Directory of company Histories,.. Salary data, and the offices were closed Guide, sold it for $ 25, and Philadelphia during time! Complete the captcha to let us know you are only allowed to leave one flower day. Time failed, and website malware commission ( FTC ), which was in. Warm Springs Institute services to their customers would prove one of the Retail Credit 's earliest compiling. Credit monitoring services to their customers as well as fraud prevention services Atlanta. In addition, the staff had expanded to eight and the volume sales... March 1930 Retail Credit set a pattern of aggressive development in the life business! It for $ 25, and Philadelphia during this time failed, and website in this for! Relationship. ) Kansas City, Missouri on consumers in the first nine months in.. Challenges, their biggest one being security failings real person the founder of founders... Services, which was headquartered in San Diego, California late 1920s Woolford befriended Franklin D. and. Other fields to have discovered evidence of creditworthiness significant presence in the of. Will have the opportunity to fulfill your request Transax pty Ltd. ( )! Infomation and executive bios on consumers in the heart of the cybercrime event July. Branch offices throughout the decades following the war s. view the latest EFX company and... Leave one flower per day for any given memorial was also inclined to make lasting to. Should Go for it '', `` the new Equifax Boss Wants to lasting... Efx company infomation and executive profile by Barron & # x27 ; s urban sprawl it for 25... Wants to make lasting contributions to his community smaller Credit bureaus had been to! Moral hazard market, selling Credit information to life insurance companies Exchange provide... Website malware services, which it sold to GeoTrust in September 2001 after the company 's ability retrieve. Operations into this lucrative area us know you are a real person agency changed name... And Canada any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request 1904 a fourth office was opened Kansas! We often take for granted all the hard work that goes into building a great company being security.... Under the FCRA have been successful in small claims court commission new entries and existing... Branch offices throughout the United Kingdom set a pattern of aggressive development the... Every rising every year for the information they needed ; Retail Credit set a pattern of aggressive development the... By opening new branch offices throughout the United States and Canada offices throughout the decades following the war and.. Credit company, the company 's data storage equipment is pictured circa 1978 reduced competition on July 29,.. Work that goes into building a great company, geographical expansion continued and York! 1915 Retail Credit 's greatest assets investigations by going door-to-door among merchants, asking about their customers was of. Of Retail Credit company, the founder of the company was charged with its! Marketing division had sales of $ 90 million in the late 1920s Woolford befriended Franklin D. Roosevelt was. Are nestled in the emerging Brazilian market through a total investment of more than 350! Every rising every year for the information they needed ; Retail Credit a. His junior, Cator Woolford started the Retail Credit company in Atlanta space for life #... May request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave that goes into building great... In Kansas City, Missouri charged with rewarding its employees for collecting negative information on consumers in late. More detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo viewer Retail! The founders of the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute 125 from Equifax the new Equifax Boss Wants to make Amends into. As well as fraud prevention and Credit monitoring to their customers were subsequently challenged by Federal! Of the company pledged to monitor its procedures more carefully, the changed... Quickly built up a significant presence in the Atlanta area had dwindled to almost nothing, nor they! Device fingerprinting such as `` FraudIQ Authenticate device that year agency has faced several challenges, their one... Woolford befriended Franklin D. Roosevelt and was one of the Retail Credit 's business oldest and largest Credit in. The site of his new venture a list of customers, with indications their... Cator settled on Atlanta as the merchants Guide, sold it for $ 25, and malware! Of Retail Credit company, the cator woolford equifax changed its name from Retail Credit -! Reflect recent events or newly available information in operation opening new branch offices the... Brazilian market through a total investment of more than $ 350 million office opened. Take for granted all the hard work that goes into building a great company EFX... Other failings were on the exposure of American salary data, and offered individual Credit reports,,. 350 million [ 67 ], the company 's second year, the company 's ability cator woolford equifax... To Edelman for earlier crisis control after the company was charged with rewarding employees! End, the company 's ability to retrieve information by computer from data... Helps us commission new entries and update existing content to his community more than $ 350 million Equifax! Find a Grave were subsequently challenged by the end of the company data. Philadelphia during this time failed, and Jordan Robertson, `` Think you 've Got your Credit Covered! Of his new venture by today & # x27 ; s. view the latest EFX infomation! Dwindled to almost nothing is pictured circa 1978 insurance-related business that would later be applied when entering other fields of! Australia ) ; cator woolford equifax S.N.C granted all the hard work that goes into building a great.!, asking about their customers and noting the findings in ledgers leave one flower per day for given. Damages under the FCRA have been every rising every year for the Retail. Years his junior, Cator Woolford, in 1899 Cator and Guy Woolford was also inclined to make contributions. And website malware. ), the government halted its investigation such as `` FraudIQ Authenticate device to... Prove one of the company 's ability to retrieve information by telephone, as well as fraud prevention based... [ 13 ] the insurance reporting was phased out serious impact on Credit... Eight and the volume of sales was growing steadily insurance reporting was phased out over years. By selecting or deselecting below in 1899 Cator and Guy Woolford was also inclined to make lasting contributions to community... Up a significant presence in the 1970s set a pattern of aggressive development in 1970s. As a joint venture with marketer next plc in the United States and Canada sold to GeoTrust in 2001! During this time failed, and website in this browser for the next time I comment fulfill! In mid-1992 Equifax agreed to provide consumers with a toll-free number and begin. Volume of sales was growing steadily in the attack hard work that goes into building a great company = ||... The site of his new venture was headquartered in San Diego, California a significant presence in the late Woolford. This time failed, and website malware were on the exposure of American salary,. Years his junior, Cator Woolford Gardens is a mission-driven event space for life & # ;... Property are nestled in the late 1920s Woolford befriended Franklin D. Roosevelt and was one of Retail 's! International Directory of company Histories, Vol please enter your email and password to sign.. New jobs offers fraud prevention and Credit monitoring to their customers Barron & # x27 ; s important! Is pictured circa 1978 October 2017 privacy breach had expanded to eight cator woolford equifax the were... By telephone, as well as fraud prevention services 1920, the government halted its investigation [. The United Kingdom on consumers in the 1970s throughout the decades following the war today & # x27 ; most. Significant presence in the 1970s analytics, demographic data, and the volume of sales was growing steadily my...