By Carrie Kerskie
Identity theft has become a global epidemic with no available cure. You, nor any service, can prevent identity theft from happening. If you have not yet become a victim you will be one day in the future. No one is immune from ID theft. So what do you do? The best offense is a strong defense. This starts with identity theft protection services. But shopping for an identity theft protection service is no easy task. There are hundreds of options available. New ones are being created every day. Since you are paying for a service and not a tangible product it is hard to determine if you are comparing apples to apples or apples to onions. These companies use creative marketing to appear to offer more than their competitor when often they are offering the exact same thing. An example is the usage of the words “restoration” and “resolution”. They appear to be similar but yet one sounds better than the other. So what can you do? How can you get past the marking gimicks to make a true side by side comparison? By stripping down the service to three basic elements: credit monitoring, insurance and what they do for you after you become an ID theft victim.
Credit Monitoring
Credit monitoring is your first line of defense in detecting identity theft. While it does not prevent identity theft it does alert you if there are changes to your credit report. When shopping for credit monitoring the one rule to remember is that all three bureaus MUST be monitored. If the service is only monitoring one bureau you are wasting your money because not all creditors report to all three bureaus. Since the data comes from the same three bureaus it really does not matter which credit monitoring service you use. Shop around for the best price. Just make sure all three bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are being monitored. BONUS: some companies also monitor the Internet for your personal indentifying information. This type of monitoring is difficult to compare but again they are often using the same, or similar, technology so consider it a bonus to credit monitoring.
ID theft insurance
Before you run out and purchase ID theft insurance check with your insurance agent handling your homeowners insurance. Often times ID theft insurance is included or offered with your homeowners insurance policy. If you do not have coverage then here are the three things to consider when comparing ID theft insurance policies is: what is included (or covered by the policy), what is excluded, what is the deductible and the dollar amount of coverage. Keep in mind most of these policies DO NOT cover your financial loss from the ID theft. These policies were designed to help offset or reimburse you for expences incurred while restoring your identity, ex: legal fees. NOTE: do not file a claim against the policy unless you have invasive ID theft which involves more than someone using your credit cards.
What happens once you are a vicitm
This is where it gets interesting. As stated earlier, credit monitoring and insurance policies are a dime a dozen and vary slightly. Neither one prevents ID theft. Credit monitoring notifies you that you are now a victim while the insurance policy helps to offset mitigation expenses. The real meat of an ID theft protection services is what will they do for you after you become a victim. This varies from the company sending you a “do-it-yourself kit” in the mail and you do all of the work to the company handling the entire restoration process on your behalf. Obviously the more work preformed by the company the more expensive the service. But just how do you determine what the company will do for you? Simple – read their contract. Don’t try to compare based on their marketing materials, ex brochure, website, comparison sheets. These companies use clever and creative naming conventions to confuse you into thinking their service is better than their competitor’s service. The contract will tell you exactly what you get for your money. You will also be required to sign a limited power of attorney. This allows the company to act on your behalf to restore your identity. Make sure you have read the LPOA so you know what powers you are providing the company. NOTE: many of these services are not available for “pre-existing conditions” if you are currently an ID theft victim so make sure to read the fine print of the contract.
So there you have it! Three simple elements to analyze identity theft protection services. By looking past the creative marketing and the flashy website you are able to compare the services apples to apples as opposed to apples to oranges. Happy shopping. Click here to download a FREE PDF of these tips – ID Theft Service Shopping Tips
One more thing, if you are already a victim and need assistance we can help. Call us at 239-435-9111 for a free confidential consultation by a Certified Identity Theft Investigator.
