Alexa – What is My Credit Score?
WHAT. COULD. GO. WRONG???????????????????
Amazon is offering you a new feature; you can ask Alexa what you credit score is.
Actually, it is not as bad as it sounds. But it doesn’t seem like the most secure thing ever.
First, it is not really Amazon who is answering that question, it is Experian. Alexa has what Amazon calls “skills”. A skill, I gather, is a particular thing that Alexa can do, like, maybe, get you movie information. Skills may be implemented by Amazon or they may be implemented by a third party. In this case, the third party is Experian.
In order to use the credit score skill, you have to enable the Experian skill, then you have you enter the username and password for your Experian account (so if you don’t have an Experian account you are safe, I guess). When you do this, the system creates a PIN for you. I am guessing they create it rather than having you create it because they are scared people will use 1-2-3-4 or 1-1-1-1. If the skill is inactive for 5 minutes you have to re-enter the PIN.
They also remind people that the information is sensitive so you might want to be alone when you ask Alexa.
If you have Experian’s credit lock product (for more $$$), you can also lock and unlock your credit file from your Alexa. You can get other Experian services too.
Since most people very rarely check their credit score or even look at their credit file, I am not sure that this service will be super popular, but who knows; they could be on to something.
In fairness to Experian, it seems like they have tried to make it safe, but it also seems like it might be smarter to check your credit score on your tablet or phone (using your Wells, Capital One, Discover and other apps – which are free, unlike Experian). It’s not like you do this 3 times a day so it has to be super convenient. If you check it a couple of times a year you would be above the average.
So just use your laptop. Or your phone or tablet. Please.
Information for this post came from CNN.
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