"However a large number of people decided to create an account with Equifax to find out what rating they gave them ( or other people ) . They are the ones who lost the security info etc."
Because there is no point applying for finance - be it a credit card, mortgage, car finance etc. if for some reason there is a black mark on your record.
Applying for credit and being declined puts a very very very dark blue mark on your record (lenders hate it).
Also, given the amount of hacks going on, it is useful to keep a close eye on your credit record for $UNKNOWN_CREDIT_CARD
Biting the hand that feeds IT
