authorized user
Consumer status in consumer credit file provided by an entire tradeline from another person's credit account. Defunct tactic in Fair Isaac's FICO 08 score algorithm which nullified it

BEACON
First general-purpose FICO score. Trademark name for Equifax FICO score.

BEACON 5.0
Equifax FICO score version announced by Fair Isaac to have been generally available in May, 2003.

BEACON 96
Equifax FICO score version Equifax claimed, in 2005, available through ScorePower.

consumer reporting agency
"... any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports." - Fair Credit Reporting Act

consumer reporting agency that compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis
Fair Credit Reporting Act

credit bureau
misnomer for consumer reporting agency

credit bureau risk score
myFICO.com (Fair Isaac)
fairisaac.com

credit rating
What is a credit rating? The Credit Scoring Site

credit score
myFICO.com (Fair Isaac)
annualcreditreport.com
FTC
Fair Credit Reporting Act, ยง609(f)(2)
Equifax
Experian
TransUnion
CFA
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

credit scoring
FTC

disparate impact

dispute
FTC

EMPIRICA
Defunct trademark name for TransUnion FICO score

Equifax
Atlanta-based publicly-held big-three consumer reporting agency. Formerly Retail Credit Company

Experian
Big-three consumer reporting agency. Formerly TRW

Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model
Experian FICO score

Fair Isaac Corporation
Creator of FICO scores. Formerly "Fair, Isaac Company"

Fake-O score
Not a FICO (scale: 300-850) score, but one that looks and acts like it, with a similar scale. Notable examples: Experian PLUS (scale: 330-830) and TransUnion TransRisk (scale: 300-900). See Average credit score, and Fake-O FICO Funk.

FICO 08
Fair Isaac FICO revision that addressed authorized user scheduled for first implementation at Experian in September, 2007

FICO Risk Score
Fair Isaac

FICO Risk Score, Classic
Trademark name for TransUnion FICO score

FICO Score
Fair Isaac

Industry Option FICO score
Fair Isaac

inquiry
Fair Isaac

median
The type of average Fair Isaac uses to describe the middle score of the distribution

mortgage
Misnomer for mortgage loan. Agreement that secures a loan with real estate.

myFICO.com
Fair Isaac web site for consumers to obtain their FICO scores and access to score simulators for Equifax and TransUnion scores

PLUS
A Fake-O score. Non-FICO Experian "consumer-focused" credit score

reason code
Number representing one of a fixed set of approximately 45 factors that a FICO credit score is not higher

secured credit card
Financial instrument-- typically used to reestablish a damaged credit history-- that requires a savings account in the amount of the spending limit

thin-file credit score
Credit score using consumer files with few tradelines, targeted at the under-banked market segment

tradeline

"Credit industry term for an account listed on a credit report." - Equifax

"'Tradeline' is industry jargon for 'account.' So, if you have a credit account, you have a tradeline." - Experian

TransUnion
Chicago-based big-three consumer reporting agency. Formerly Trans Union.

VantageScore
Non-FICO score developed jointly by the big three consumer reporting agencies Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, and released in 2006