Identity Theft Services Explained

As thieves discover more and more ways to steal personal information, it is critical that people use identity theft protection services that involve a wide security sweep of all personal identifiable information and high-risk activity. The marketplace for identity theft protection now includes all kinds of monitoring services and features. Make the best choice by understanding each feature available, how they differ from each other and their capacity for sustaining protection. Credit Monitoring Credit monitoring is the process of reviewing a consumer’s credit activity with the credit bureau. It monitors the activity and changes to a credit report, including inquiries made by a creditor to request a copy of a report. Monitoring provides an alert system for potential fraudulent activity or accounts being established. Credit monitoring provides an alert system to activity affecting your credit report and credit score. Monitoring enables you to stay on top of fraudulent activity so that you can address the inaccuracies immediately. It also reduces the financial impact that identity theft can cause, by reporting the fraud earlier and reducing potential out-of-pocket losses. Identity Monitoring Identity monitoring looks at more than just credit information; it encompasses all personal identifiable information: name, birth date, address, email, phone number, Social Security number, etc. This could include monitoring the Internet, national databases, credit files, public records and more. If thieves have your personal identifiable information, it’s the perfect cover for their crimes because everything will point to you, not them. Even kids can become victims of identity theft: Each year, more than 140,000 identity theft cases involve children. Social Security Number Monitoring It’s exactly how it sounds – protection for one of the most important pieces of information that a person has. This type involves monitoring hundreds of millions of records for unauthorized use of a Social Security number (SSN). 70% of people are worried about the safety of their SSN. Monitoring an SSN is particularly important for children because thieves have plenty of time to use the child’s information for their own gain before the child finds out by applying for an account or a line of credit and is denied because of the thieves’ damage. Data Sweeps Unlike previous monitoring services that focus on particular data or activities, data sweeps encompass a plethora of touch points and personal information. Data sweeps monitor the Internet for instances of criminals using stolen phone numbers, addresses, birth dates and more. How many data points are included and how often the data sweeps occur vary from plan to plan. Data sweeps cover the information that consumers are worried about, like mailing addresses (50%) and phone numbers (60%). It can also help a person feel more secure about online presence because data sweeps can lead to removing exposed personal information on the web. Credit Card Monitoring The lending institutions that issue credit and debit cards will usually monitor transactions and notify cardholders of suspicious activity. Credit card monitoring, as offered through an identity monitoring service, will monitor the Internet for fraudulent activity involving credit card and debit account numbers, PIN numbers and other personal information in Internet hacker chat rooms and the dark web. Credit card monitoring looks at activity outside of the credit report and outside of activity monitored by the cardholder’s bank or issuing institution. As a result, it can detect fraud that may or may not make it to a credit report or be captured by the bank. Recovery Assistance Most services will not only keep you informed but help you resolve any suspicious activity. Features could include assistance from a credentialed professional. Some assistance features may only provide victims with next steps or resources, while others may actually take on some of the activities a victim must complete to rebuild his or her reputation. 47% of victims who spent 6-plus months fixing the issue(s) felt severe emotional distress vs. the 4% of victims who felt that way after resolving issues within 24 hours. Victims can limit the health and financial costs of recovery by using a protection plan that includes assistance from professionals who know how to get quick results. Lost Purse or Wallet Assistance Whether you misplace your wallet or it actually gets stolen, most identity theft protection services will help you contact the correct institutions and minimize the damage if a thief tries to use your stolen information. Despite the growing threat of malware and hacking, physical theft is still a problem, and 43% of physical theft happens at work. Service Guarantee Most companies have a service agreement that provides some sort of refund for customers if there’s a defect in the company’s service. New technological advances are made every day for security and thievery, so you need to make sure that a company will help you if its protection services can’t keep up with thieves’ new tricks. Some identity theft protection services go above and beyond with the layers of security and assistance they offer, in addition to the commonly included products listed above. Some of those extra special features are: Additional Databases While most services monitor your personal identifiable information online or on credit reports, not all of them will monitor databases like criminal records and sex offender registries. Some companies charge extra for monitoring these additional databases. Thieves don’t just use your personal information to empty your bank account. Thieves will steal reputable citizens’ identities and use them as aliases when committing crimes. Medical Fraud Assistance Monitoring for medical fraud involves protecting insurance records from criminal use and assisting victims when a thief tampers with a victim’s medical history or racks up medical debt. The crime rate for medical identity theft increases by 32% each year, and more than $12.3 billion in out-of-pocket expenses were spent in the past year because of medical identity theft. Tax Fraud Assistance Products include giving victims an action plan and providing forms and contact information for working with the IRS. Services that actually do recovery work for victims must have certified tax specialists who are approved for working with the IRS on behalf of the victims. In 2014, the FTC’s 1.5 million fraud-related complaints revealed that consumers have paid a total of $1.7 billion because of fraud, and a third of those complaints were tax-related. Tax fraud could include IRS phishing schemes, phone scams and stealing taxpayers’ information to file phony tax returns and get their refunds. Family Coverage Protection plans may allow members to add family members to their plan; however, adding family members often comes with additional charges. When family members share accounts (e.g. bank, music, email), passwords, etc., everyone feels the consequences if one of them becomes a victim. Other Other pieces of your personal information that may or may not be included in the common types of monitoring: loan/lease information, driver’s license, computer security, bank account information, passports, etc. Thieves’ use of hacking, malware and social media have skyrocketed over the past few years. As fraudsters improve their tactics, they gain access to more and more information. Each type of monitoring covers important information that could lead to serious damage if taken into the hands of a fraudster, and no one type covers everything. Likewise, each feature has importance, but they’re most effective when working together because they create sustainable, comprehensive coverage. People need to make sure that their identity theft protection plan includes all the necessary data points with multiple types of monitoring, assistance and recovery features, so their information stays secure.