What Are the Pros and Cons of Signing Up for Identity Protection Services?
It is a relatively modern problem where people’s identity is stolen by other individuals. Due to cyber attacks that result in the leakage of personal details of millions of consumers, individuals face the likelihood of becoming victims of identity thieves, who could proceed to open credit accounts or make purchases using such information. It is for this reason that doubts have been raised as to whether it is always worth joining an identity theft protection service. Below we highlight the benefits and shortcomings of using these services to assist you in deciding on obtaining identity theft protection.
Understanding What Identity Theft Protection Companies Usually Provide
Generally, identity theft protection companies offer various resources to help you track your personal information and financial accounts as well as credit reports for use when identifying identity theft. They also help if your identity is indeed stolen - acting for you to sort out the matter.
Specifically, an identity theft protection service normally offers the following monitoring and protection services:
- Credit monitoring – notifies you of any credit check or a new account opened under your identity. There are checks offered for each of the three main credit reference agencies.
- Identity theft monitoring - Searches the web for stolen personal details and members’ financial credentials on the black markets which are sold after being stolen. Informs you if your private data is spotted.
- Change of address monitoring - Informs you if somebody attempts to forward your mail and criminals know this is a pointer to identity theft.
- Fraud alerts for bank and credit cards – Notify you of the cash withdrawal, balance transfer, or large purchases you did not make using your financial accounts.
- Data breach notifications – This will inform you when your data has been compromised in a data breach.
- Identity theft insurance – reimburses the amounts that had to be paid in case the client becomes an identity theft victim. May include expenses such as lawyer and attorney bills, wages lost during the recovery process, and fraudulent debts. Often up to $1 000 000.
- Over-the-top support - When you become an identity theft victim, an advocate is assigned to guide you through a step-by-step guide on how to recover. You are just expected to make a call to the companies that you want the money from and the advocate handles most of the recovery process for you.
It may also have other options, such as threat assessment if your data is compromised or tools that allow you to freeze and unfreeze your credit or track your credit scores.
Advantages of using Identity Theft Protection Services
Identity theft protection services offer you the full package on how to keep an eye on all your, accounts, credit reports, and any other information that may have been compromised. In doing so you can then identify and address any red flags of identity theft as soon as possible. It is however important to note that if discovered early then the effects can be reduced. Some services also provide insurance and help in the recovery of your lost identity in case of its misuse.
In having an identity protection service that has the company conduct regular monitoring for data breaches, cybercrime data dumps, suspicious credit inquiries, and all the other signs of identity theft, one does not have to go out of their way to search for them or even remember to check credit reports once in a while. It is done for you without you having to ask or think about it many times.
Their recovery assistance is also very convenient and a lot less stressful if you do unfortunately become a casualty. These companies have people on the payroll who fully understand the proper procedures on how to handle the issue with creditors, agencies of government, and other entities on behalf of the identity theft victim.
If you are considering signing up for identity theft protection services, there are several negative points that you should make note of.
The one drawback that customers experience with most of the identity theft protection companies is that they charge their clients on a monthly or an annual basis and this can cost anything from $10 on the lower end to about $30 on the higher end. It is merely another recurring expense that has to be included in the budget. Packages that are basic with less number of features may cost less but might not offer optimal security.
Some of the primary aspects of credit and identity monitoring services that they provide can be gotten for free if one takes the time to search for them. You are allowed to receive one credit report from each bureau once a year. You just have to request them and scan them for mistakes. You can, for example, place a free security freeze on the credit reports and get free credit monitoring from some banks and credit card companies, if you were an identity theft victim resulting from specific data breaches.
Some free services may not be as comprehensive as those of companies and pay every month but they enable at least to occasionally monitor the signs of identity theft personally for free without any hidden charges.
And even subscribing to an identity theft protection service doesn’t mean that your identity will not be stolen. While professionals can help you avoid identity theft, the professional identity theft protection services available may not guarantee that you’ll be entirely protected and may include some costs or work that you have to perform following identity theft.
Other things that can be done to protect an identity include the following Other Things You Can Do to Protect Your Identity
Even though purchasing identity theft protection services can help monitor and aid with such an event, the services should only act as layers of protection.
Other precautions include:
This means they should not post material that can attract the wrong people with bad intentions or information that can be easily linked to them online. Using stronger password protection for your computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones The best security practice that can be applied is the use of multifactor authentication whenever it is available. In this case, you can do some monitoring of the money you have and the charges you make on your credit cards. Use credit monitoring to ensure no accounts can be opened in your name Use the services of a cross-cut shredder to reduce the likelihood of identity theft through document disposal. Isolating and authenticating phone calls or emails requesting personal details The policy on SSN usage also included the following; SSN should only be used when it is compulsory to do so. These sensible practices help reduce the possibility of thieves getting a probability to get enough of the vital particulars that will assist them to steal an identity in the first instance. When used alongside services for credit monitoring, they present a pretty strong defense against most of the identity theft dangers.
Is Identity Theft Protection A Good Idea?
However, sometimes nowhere is safe from identity theft and no one can provide you with a guarantee that one day you will not become a victim of such crime regardless of the measures taken. The actions of identity thieves are constantly escalating and growing more complex. But identity theft protection services come with alert mechanisms that can at least notify you of the activity or offer assistance in handling the matter should hackers or thieves manage to compromise your identity in some way. That being said, the financial assistance granted by these services alone would help consumers feel at ease and justify the monthly charges for the protection offered against identity theft to numerous individuals.
With some of them, you are allowed to get a free trial for one month and this gives you a chance to work with the company in question. This is a good strategy to help them assess the effectiveness of various products in meeting one’s safety requirements without necessarily investing in them. Read through the stipulated details carefully so that you can see what is being offered and what is being omitted if ever you have to decide whether the maintenance of constant fees for identity theft protection is advisable or not for your circumstances.
It is almost impossible to reduce the risk of identity theft to nil, yet having a company that will monitor your data and help recover your identity in case hackers have struck is comforting to know that it won’t be as difficult as a long journey with no map.
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