Find Financial News Online

Identity theft is a crime that is often difficult to detect and even more difficult to recover from. For several years, identity theft remained the fastest growing crime in America. Only recently has its growth slowed slightly, but it’s still estimated that millions of people are identity theft victims every year.

Thieves continue to find increasingly clever ways to steal your personal information. They steal your mail, go through your trash, and even snatch your wallet when you’re not looking. Some thieves use electronic devices to steal your credit card information in legitimate transactions. Other thieves hack into the computer systems of companies you’ve done business with and take your personal information.

There are some things you can do on your own to detect and prevent identity theft. For example, checking your credit reports at least once a year will give you a heads-up on any suspicious accounts that have been created in your name. The federal government has worked with the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to create www.annualcreditreport.com, a central site you can use to receive a free, government-granted credit report each year.

You may decide to go beyond checking your free credit reports to protect your identity. Here is a list of identity theft services you can use to help prevent identity theft and to clear your name in the unfortunate event that you become a victim.

Credit freeze products

A credit report security freeze offers the most identity theft protection of any solution out there. With a credit freeze, businesses cannot check your credit report because it’s locked. Therefore, would-be thieves couldn’t open new accounts in your name because the banks can’t review your credit to approve the application. When you need to make applications for credit, you can temporarily unlock your credit report by giving a password or PIN to the credit bureaus.

You can set up a credit report freeze directly with the credit bureaus. Because the process can be cumbersome, there are some companies that provide credit freezing services for you.

If you hire a company to freeze your credit report, make sure you understand the cost of the service, any additional services the company provides, and how you can cancel the service. Ask how you will be able to confirm that the credit freeze was successful.

Understand whether the company offers insurance in the event that your identity is stolen even though your credit was frozen.

Credit freezes aren’t 100% foolproof because, in rare cases, credit card accounts are given without a credit check.

Credit monitoring services

Credit monitoring services continuously check your credit report and alert you when there is suspicious activity on your credit report. For example, you may be notified if a new inquiry is placed on your credit report, if a new account is opened in your name, or if an account balance increases by a certain amount. These are all signs that your identity has been compromised.

You can monitor your credit at a single credit bureau or at all three credit bureaus. For complete protection, your credit monitoring service should check all three of your credit reports. This is important since some businesses only report to one of the credit bureaus and the bureaus don’t share information.

When you’re choosing a credit monitoring service, you should check all the benefits offered and compare them among other services.

Credit monitoring services don’t always alert you as soon as identity theft happens, since it takes a few days to a few weeks for information to show up on your credit report. Be advised that credit monitoring only allows you to react to identity theft that has already occurred. It doesn’t necessarily allow you to keep identity theft from happening. But by cluing you into account-opening identity theft as early as possible, you can then take the necessary steps to stop it before too much damage is done.

Data sweep services

If your personal information makes it onto the internet, your risk of identity theft is greatly increased. Data sweep companies comb the internet, checking to see if your personal information has been published and potentially traded on black market “carding” sites. You’ll receive an alert letting you know if your social security number or financial records have been put on the internet. The sooner you know about this information has been published, the sooner you can begin taking steps to have it taken down.

Identity monitoring

Identity monitoring provides all the features of credit monitoring plus additional services that help you prevent identity theft. For example, identity monitoring might offer additional notifications for things like address changes, account information posted on the internet, and other symptoms of identity theft.

When you’re choosing an identity monitoring service, you want to be notified of as many signs of theft as possible and as quickly as possible.

Identity theft insurance

Identity theft insurance can be purchased as part of identity monitoring services, as a stand-alone policy, or as an addition to another type of policy, like a homeowner’s insurance policy. Depending on the agency, identity theft insurance covers different things. The insurance might cover:

Lost wages due to time you take off to handle the theft, Legal fees you pay to recover your name, Other out-of-pocket expenses you pay to help restore your identity.

When you’re shopping for identity theft insurance, make sure you know what’s covered, the coverage limits, and the costs. Ask for the amount of the monthly premium and the deductible. Avoid policies with high deductibles because the cost might exceed what you’d spend on identity theft expenses. A 2007 survey by PrivacyRights.org, reveals that the average identity theft victim spends just more than $740 to clear their name. Keep that figure in mind as you compare deductibles and coverage limits for identity theft insurance.

Secure payment agents

It’s becoming more common to do business over the internet. Most internet transactions require sensitive personal and financial information that would allow scammers to steal your identity.

A secure payment agent (SPA) is a type of service that cloaks your personal information when you’re doing business over the internet. For example, when you use a credit card for payment, the service uses a temporary credit card number that expires after you’ve used it. Login name and email address are also temporary and discarded after use. Would-be thieves would’t be able to trace this stolen information back to you.

When you’re shopping for a secure payment agent, one of the primary things you should consider is the cost. You should also ask these questions:

How many secure transactions can you make each month? How can you be sure the transaction was successful? Is there a limit on transaction amounts? Does the SPA store your personal information? If so, what measures does it take to keep your information safe? Can you manage usernames and passwords via the SPA? Can you access your account online? How can you cancel the service? Can you make payments using your credit card, debit card, and/or checking account? Do you need to download additional software to your computer for the SPA to work?

Victim resolution

Part of the identity theft recovery process includes clearing your name from fraudulent accounts that were created without your permission.

Victim resolution services are typically add-ons to other identity theft services. These services help identity theft victims clear their name from fraudulent accounts that have been created. They can tell you what documents you need to help prove these accounts don’t belong to you.

Check around before you hire a victim resolution service because there may be a local non-profit agency that will help you with the resolution process at no charge.

If you decide to hire a company to help you through the resolution process, consider these things:

The cost of the service The services provided The types of identity theft covered Whether the service covers accounts created before the contract was created How you can cancel the policy Whether you can receive a refund if you are unsatisfied with the results How will the company restore your name

Protecting your personal data

Whether you decide to pay for an identity theft protection service, there are still some steps you can take on your own to help prevent identity theft.

Keep your personal identifying and financial information safe. This includes your social security number, credit card number, PIN, and checking account number. Shred your billing statements and unused credit cards rather than tossing them directly into the trash. Check your billing statement each month. Contact your bank or credit card company immediately if you notice any suspicious and unexplained credit card charges. Get your credit report at least once a year. Three times a year is better. You can order one of your free credit reports every four months to watch your credit throughout the year.

For more information, download the free SpendOnLife Identity Theft Recovery Kit.

Similar Posts:

• 72% of U.S. Adults Fear Online Identity Theft
• Data Breaches: What You Need to Know
• Credit Card Services In A Nutshell
• Internet Cookies and Privacy
• P2P lapses ‘put credit card data at risk’