Avoid Stolen Identity?

The bad news is unless society changes the way personal information is collected and stored there is no way to prevent identity theft.

The good news is you can limit your liability (not probability).

Now that the proverbial Pandora ’s Box has been opened, the most practical thing to avoid stolen identity is to monitor your credit. Credit monitoring gives you peace of mind knowing your credit is monitored daily for signs of suspicious activity. Avoid stolen identity with the Identity Shield.

Monitoring can not prevent identity theft. But it’s better than nothing.

Early notice of activity you would otherwise never know of, or not know of for a long time, is the benefit of regular monitoring. If that activity is fraudlent, you catch it sooner and begin the tough job of restoration.

Notification of possible fraudulent activity within a month is much better than after two or three years.

Remember, if your credit profile is corrupted your creditors (banks, credit card companies, merchants, etc.) will bear much of the financial costs. But you'll pay with wasted time and in the ablity to get auto insurance, jobs, affordable mortgage rates, and so forth.

Speaking of straightening out the mess, restoring your name tends to be time intensive and costly. You may need more than a “do it yourself" kit if it happens to you.

Why?

There are three main credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. But there are over two thousand smaller credit reporting agencies located in every city, and town in the country. Credit bureaus profit by selling your credit history and your personal information to their subscribers.

All three major credit bureaus offer monitoring for a fee. And congress passed legislation requiring the credit bureaus to provide three (3) free credit monitoring checks per year.

Credit bureaus are notoriously unresponsive to requests to change information. They want to maintain the perception that their data is 100% accurate, since their profits are directly tied to the perception of their accuracy.

Even if you don't lose much money to an ID thief, fixing your record can be costly. About 20 percent of new-account frauds are cleared up in less than an hour. About another 20 percent can take 80 hours or more to resolve. Sometimes it can take much longer. Some victims have logged over 500 hours.

Necessity the Mother of 'Prevention'.

Identity theft protection businesses came to be because of the public’s increasing need for identity theft protection.

There are big differences in what identity theft prevention services offer to help you out. Many services offer some 800 number telephone counseling. Much of this advice is through low paid employees reading similar material you can find online.

Identity Theft Insurance

Other services and Insurance companies offer an insurance policy that “reimburses” up to $25,000.

Meaning; You must first spend your money to clear your credit name. Submit your claim to the service. Then wait for them to determine if your identity theft case matches THEIR definition.

Identity theft insurance may come as part of your home owners insurance policy. Others sell it as either a stand alone policy or as an endorsement to a homeowners or renters insurance policy.

Typically policies cost between $25 and $50 for $15,000 to $25,000 worth of coverage, for out of pocket expenses such as phone bills, lost wages, notary and certified mailing costs and sometimes attorney fees with the prior consent of the insurer.

For real identity theft protection get the Identity Shield.