Start being careful about what you post on social media, if you are not going to post something smart, just sleep with the white fur pillow, it is way better! We are not that far off from the Social Credit Score that China already runs under. Credit scores in China are evaluated by everything you do in society.

Therefore everyone is closely regulated and monitored in China. China has about 1.4 billion citizens that their communist government is scrambling to control and monitor.

Rather in the United States, the traditional Credit Score only measures your financial well being. It sees how well you can pay off credit cards and loans.

While in China, credit scores are measured by who you associate, your job and where you travel. In addition to your overall financial status.

AliPay and WeChat

In China, there are two widely popular cell phone payment apps that everyone uses. This is how they gather their information.

AliPay

AliPay was created in 2004 by Alibaba the E-commerce website. It soon became the dominant digital transaction system in China. AliPay has over 600 million registered members. The population of China is 1.379 Billion. Nearly half of Chinese citizens are being tracked by this app.

WeChat

WeChat is the biggest social network in China. The app is used to make video calls, make electronic payments, play games (View The Website for more info), and hail taxes. It is the Chinese version of Facebook’s Messenger app. In China, most of your friends and family would be in this app. This information would be used against you. Being in contact with people that have low credit scores is detrimental.

5 Guidelines for Social Credit Scores

Connections

It considers the credit of the contacts on your phone. That friend from high school that you don’t talk to anymore that happens to have a 400 credit score… Don’t talk to him anymore. I’m kidding…

Characteristics

What kind of car you drive, where you work, where you went to school. The type of clothes that you wear to the foods that you eat is being judged. The characteristics that make you YOU could put your credit score in jeopardy.

Behavior

The nuances of life that could predict your credit score. Buying diapers could boost your credit score and be playing video-games for multiple hours could lower it.

Purchase History

All the purchases that you make every day. A detailed record is being kept of all the transactions people are making. Social credit score and Regular credit scores have always counted this.

Late Payments

Your ability to repay loans. Social credit score systems are highly aware of late payments.

Just like how people grade each other on social media, agencies will search your social media profiles for keywords. Keywords that are associated with activities that are common to people that have low credit scores will be monitored.

I am an Optimist but This Sounds Scary as Hell

First of all, this is a level of intrusion that I’m not comfortable with. These big data companies are taking all this data but as of now it only affects the type of ads I see online. I can live with that, for now.

So being caught in a compromising photo can mean whether or not I get the car loan that I desperately need!

Most of all this is not fair. Our poor Chinese brothers and sisters. “Dammit Chao tagged me in another post about approving legal marijuana, some fake ass made in China weed.”

In China, a bad score can mean the difference between getting a job, getting health insurance, or finding a home.

We are talking about a score that will be used to evaluate your self-worth.

This can make daily life fairly difficult.

What if you have a high score?

Get ready for the perks of life. They get special privileges such as international travel and the best jobs, schools, and homes.

As a result, it could even help you get a date. In a national survey of 2,000 Americans, 8 percent of online daters said that a good credit score is more attractive than having a nice car. I have to say that would be a change of pace for the dating world.

“Aye, shawty wats ya Numbuh and ya credit score? “I got my Equifax one!” Nah… I need all 3 scores boo.”

In the future, our credit score is bound to mean more and more.

Could this really happen in the United States?

The government would have to get really intergraded into the system. Right now Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian operate pretty independently.

Following the Equifax scandal more government regulation could be on the way. Equifax had cybersecurity hole in their system called Apache Struts.

Apache Strut is open source web application framework used for developing websites in Java environments. Hackers exploited a hole in the application’s security. They were able to steal the private information from thousands of Americans.

Google, Amazon, Facebook

Google

The data collected on you is only growing every day. Big data is willing given away to these mega-corporations like Google, Amazon, and Facebook.

Google has all of your search information. What’s the first thing anyone does when they have a problem? They google it. Anything that you Google would be fair game.

But most of all they know what websites you visit. This can paint the picture of what the type of person you are. Let’s say you visit Espn.com, E-trade.com, and Match.com. The person is probably a single male that has good financial practices because he checks E-trade three times a day.

Google also has a record of where you drive every day. This is used to determine your position in society. Spending a lot of time in poor neighborhoods could be seen negatively in a social credit score.

Amazon

Amazon has the biggest marketplace online. When you think of buying something online they are on the top of your mind. They know your buying habits. They know what credit cards you are using and how often.

In addition, the frequency of when you buy things online could be used against you. If you buy a new purse every other month it may be seen negatively on your social credit score.

Millions of listening devices aka The Amazon Echo are in every home. Amazon has a lot of data at its fingertips. They are starting to know the everyday nuances that could affect social credit scores like in China.

Facebook

It is the biggest social network on the planet. Facebook has the most intimate details of our social lives. They know all of your friends and family. Social networks are closely monitored in China. If you have friends with low social credit scores then it can negatively affect you.

Sharing that you are going out to club every Friday could also negatively affect your social credit score.

They also own Whatsapp and Instagram amongst other social properties.

Final Words

In conclusion, nothing you do online is in secret. Even if Google, Amazon or Facebook doesn’t care about your data, they are still collecting it. Just remember that the government knows where to find it.

Social Credit Scores may not be here, but it is already a real thing in China. It’s 2018 and we are at the beginning of a new era in history. It’s a reality where we are connected 24/7 and there is no hiding anything you do.

Right now your credit score is only affected by your financial decisions. Learning how to manage your finances and learning to manage your social life are two different skills.

For now, all we can do is improve our FICO Scores as the current formula is set up.

UPDATE!!! Check out this resource for more credit score information about building a better Business Credit Score! You can view the guide here: https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/building-better-business-credit-score/

UPDATE 3/13/2019 Read this resource for what makes a good personal credit score at Lendedu.com https://lendedu.com/blog/what-is-a-good-credit-score/

Read more about Credit Scores in my post How to Fix Credit Score – The Absurdity of Credit Scores

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