8 Best Identity Theft Protection & Prevention Services
Filed Under (Credit Card Tips) by creditblogger on 06-03-2010
Everyday that goes by, we hear more stories about people who have had their identity stolen by ID thieves. It does not matter whether you are a famous person or a hard working small business owner. ID thieves show no one any mercy. As long as they can use your track record to make money, they don’t hesitate to come after you. That’s why everyone should take every measure possible to protect his/her identity from being stolen by ID thieves. One way to do it is by making sure your computer is not infected by viruses or keyloggers. But as careful as you are with what you do on your computer, there are still ways for ID thieves to get their hands on your information. That’s why ID protection services come in handy.
There are many ways to find out whether your identity is stolen and protect yourself against further attempts, which is why keeping track of your credit information is important. By knowing what’s in your credit and how it’s changed, you can foil the ID thieves easier. Thankfully, there are various tools that let you track your credit and get alerts in case of a suspicious activity. Here are the top credit protection tools that you can use to protect your ID like a pro:
1. LifeLock: LifeLock really needs no introduction. You have probably seen those commercials about the CEO of LifeLock giving his social security to everyone in a street. Now, you don’t want to do that, but it’s good to know that you are protected by a company that constantly monitors your information to make sure everything is in order. With LifeLock, you get $1,000,000 service guarantee backed by XL Capital, and your fraud report stays in the system for 90 days. With LifeLock, you also get free credit reports. These guys remove your name from the list of pre-approved credit offers. eReco (another LifeLock service) goes through known criminal websites for the illegal selling or trading of your personal information (including your Social Security number, credit card number, driver’s license and email address, if provided) and informs you when something is found. TrueAddress notifies you when we detect any new address information associated with your name in address databases nationwide. Overall, LifeLock is one of the best ways to protect your identity at all times. No system is foolproof, but it’d be awfully tough to fool LifeLock.
2. TrustedID: TrustedID is another great ID theft protection solution for individuals and families. IDFreeze helps you protect yourself against ID theft before they happen. CreditLock makes sure your credit report is not available to anyone without your permission. Overall, TrustedID is a great choice for families. Here are some of the other services that you get with TrustedID ID Theft protection service:
- Fraud Flags
- Public Database Scanning
- Credit Card Scanning
- Social Security Number Scanning
- Name & Address Scanning
- Bank Account Number Scanning
- Lost Wallet Protection
- Medical Benefits Protection
- Free Annual Credit Reports
- $1,000,000 Warranty Protection
- Family Protection
3. ID Watchdog: ID Watchdog is another great tool to protect your identity against hackers and thieves. The company monitors your credit and private information on a monthly basis to protect you against hackers and thieves. You can also refer to ID Watchdog if your ID is already stolen. ID Rehab helps you get your ID back without you having to do too much work. The ID Watchdog agents contact the financial companies on your behalf and fix things that have been damaged by the thieves.
4. Equifax: Equifax provides you with more than just your credit report and credit score. It also protects your identity against theft as well. Equifax ID Patrol is a tool that protects you against theft attempts against your identity. The system alerts you if your personal information is found on Internet trading sites. You are also protected up to $1,000,000 identity theft insurance and 24/7 access to ID Theft Resolution Specialists that are there to help you address issues with your credit issues. You can also lock and unlock your Equifax credit file to protect yourself. And it does help that Equifax monitors all credit bureau institutions to help you find and solve any issues with your credit reports.
5. IdentityTruth: IdentityTruth is an interesting VC-funded credit protection service that lets you monitor your credit information and prevent ID theft. IdentityTruth protects you by:
- providing you with Alerts notifying you of breaches, potential risks, offering “what’s next” advice.
- letting you know if someone is currently misusing your identity.
- alerting you about potential threats before you become an identity theft victim.
- providing fraud alerts on your credit accounts to foil criminals.
- monitoring of your consumer credit report including alerts to critical changes and updates to your credit history.
- managing your online reputation.
- managing your junk mail and protecting you against bogus offers.
6. ReputationDefender: another great tool that protects you against identity thieves. What I like about ReputationDefender is that it offers an ID protection service for your kids as well as yourself. If you want to protect your child’s ID, you’ve got MyChild. You can also protect your privacy online and even have ReputationDefender monitor the search engines and remove your personal information. In summary, here is what you get:
- MyChild
- MyReputation
- MyPrivacy
- MyEdge
7. Free Credit Reports 360: one of the best ways to protect your identity is by keeping on top your credit record. And what a better way to do that by getting your credit information from credit bureaus. Free Credit Report 360 gets you all 3 credit reports from TransUnion, Equifax & Experian, and it monitors them for you as well. So you are never left out in the cold.
8. CreditReport.com: another credit monitoring service that monitors your 3 credit reports and makes sure you are in the know when a change happens in our credit report. CreditReport.com alerts help you keep an open eye and defeat ID thefts before they can do any major damage.
I never thought my identity would be and could be stolen. But it happened. There is no fool proof way to protect your identity. Hackers and thieves are constantly getting better and are on the lookout to get their hands on your private information. By using the above service, you won’t have to go at it alone. Ignoring this risk is not going to keep you protected. The sooner you get started with the above service, the better chance you have of avoiding your sensitive information from becoming compromised.
