Identity Theft Protection & Prevention | ID Theft Service Reviews

Annual Credit Report Review

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:01:51 +0000

Annual Credit Report is an independent service that provides free, comprehensive identity theft assistance to help those people who have already become victims of identity theft, or who are trying to actively protect against it. Features of this service include the following:

* Free evaluation of your current identity theft risk levels.
* Free online access to your credit report.
* Free information on recent data losses, so that you can check which companies have had security breaches and take action to protect any data you hold with them.
* Free identity theft sharing service - so you can share your experiences, and also find out how other victims have been affected.

Also if you sign up to the Annual Credit Report premium service, which is just £3.97 a year, you receive these additional features:

* Credit Report Analysis - assistance with reading and understanding your credit report, to help you track credit transactions quickly and easily, and spot suspicious activity.
* Identity Theft Restoration Service - to help you resolve outstanding identity theft problems, using a twenty-point victim assistance plan.
* Theft Reporting - contact is made with all relevant service providers, and members are kept informed of progress.
* Credit Check - search on your current address and one old address to ensure no active credit accounts have been set up without your consent.
* Professional Credit Expert service - get advice on your credit score and how to successfully apply for credit, and also get help with correcting errors on your credit file.

You can sign up free to the Annual Credit Report services by visiting their website. You can also join the premium service online, which requires a credit or debit card, and you will be charged £3.97 annually for this service.

Learn more about different identity theft protection plans.

Identity Theft Scams

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 05:59:59 +0000

Identity thieves can be very inventive and are constantly coming up with new methods to appropriate the personal information of other people, so that they can use it to carry out fraudulent and unlawful activities.

It is important that you are aware of the common identity theft scams that thieves use, so that you can safeguard both yourself and your family against them.

Telephone Scams
Identity thieves will pose as legitimate authorities such as banks, credit card services and utility companies to try and trick you into revealing your personal information to them. Be aware that most legitimate companies would never ask you to give them personal information such as your bank account or credit card number over the phone, and if you are suspicious of a caller ask them for their full name and then phone them back through the company switchboard, (you can find the number in the phonebook or on their website), to verify they are a genuine employee.

Postal Scams
Never reply to unsolicited request for personal information through the post, and if you are unsure always phone up the company requesting the information to double-check that it is legitimate. If you are sending sensitive information use recorded delivery, to ensure it gets to the correct person safely.

Internet
Internet scams are growing every year, as more and more people shop, bank and socialise online. The most common methods of scamming personal information are ‘phishing’ and ’spoofing’. This are delivered in the form of an email, which masquerades as a legitimate source and tries to trick you into replying with personal information such as bank account and credit card details, or tries to trick you into clicking on a link within the email or opening an attachment that contains viruses that infect your computer and leave it vulnerable to malicious activity. Never open emails, click on a links, or open attachments unless you are sure they are from a legitimate source.

Learn more about the different identity theft insurance protection programs out there today.

How to Report Identity Theft

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 05:58:08 +0000

If you discover that you have become a victim of identity theft it is important that you take immediate steps to resolve this issue, as it could have potentially devastating effects on your financial records, or even make you liable for any debts of criminal charges that are incurred in your name.

Step One - Report Identity Theft to Affected Financial Services
Check through all of your accounts, credit cards and financial records and ensure that no suspicious activity has taken place. If you do spot something, contact the card issuer/account supervisor immediately to report the theft, and you may have to temporarily close this account to prevent any more problems from occurring. Keep copies of all your correspondence regarding this issue. If your main account is affected, discuss ways in which you can access your money, as it can sometimes take months to resolve identity theft cases.

Step Two - Report Identity Theft to Credit Bureaus
It is important you contact the main credit reference bureaus and report identity theft. They will then be able to place a fraud alert on your credit file, which will prevent anyone applying for credit falsely in your name. Ask them to send you a free copy of your credit file and check through it carefully to ensure no suspicious activity has already taken place, and if so report it immediately to the credit bureau. Always keep records of your telephone conversations and correspondence regarding your identity theft case. Here are the contact details of the three main bureaus:

* TransUnion:
Tel: 1-800-680-7289
Website: www.transunion.com
* Equifax:
Tel: 1-800-525-6285
Website: www.equifax.com
* Experian
Tel: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
Website: www.experian.com

Step Three - Report Identity theft to the Police
Contact your local police department and ask to file an identity theft report. You may be able to do this over the telephone, or in some cases you may have to go into the police station in person. It is important to report any identity theft as a police incident number may be required to assist your case when you are trying to dispute fraudulent charges and credit on your financial records.

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The Rise of Identity Theft

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:26:27 +0000

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world, and the numbers of victims reporting this type of crime have risen by hundreds of thousands in just the last few years. Currently it is estimated that over 9 million US consumers alone in 2008 were the victims of identity theft crimes, and experts predict that this worrying figure will only increase in the coming years.

Identity theft crimes reflect the changes in banking and financial services over the last 5 years, as chip and pin technology have made credit/debit card more difficult for casual crime, and chequebooks have been gradually phased out. This means that thieves are having to find new and more inventive ways to appropriate money from others unlawfully, and one of these methods is by stealing their identity, so that they can fraudulently apply for goods, services, benefits and credit in their name.

With the increasing popularity of the Internet as a medium for shopping, banking and socialising, online identity theft crimes are also increasing, and it is more important than ever to take steps to protect your personal information when surfing the Internet. You should never go online without anti-virus, ant-spyware and firewall protection in place, and you should only shop online from reputable websites that have up to date encryption technology in place.

The main problem that victims of identity crimes have is that it can be a difficult and time consuming process to try and prove the id theft has taken place, and also to resolve any debts that have been incurred in their names.

Learn how to stop identity theft immediately.

Budget Identity Protection Services

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:25:46 +0000

Identity theft affects millions of people around the world every year, and it can cost victims thousands of dollars in charges and fees to clear their names. It is important then that everyone takes responsibility for their own personal data, and does everything they can to protect it from being used for unlawful purposes by identity thieves.

There are some additional identity protection services now available, that can help you protect your personal information and prevent thieves for applying for credit, goods and services in your name. If you are on a budget then the Identity Truth service is ideal, as it is available for just $8.25 per month. This service offers active monitoring of your key personal data such as your financial record file (which contains details of all your applications for credit and bank accounts) and reports any unusual activity back to you immediately. Also this service advises you how to put fraud alerts on your main credit record files, so that all applications for credit have to be authorised personally by you before they are processed. This makes it very hard for identity thieves to fraudulently apply for credit in your name, without your knowledge.

Lifelock also offers a budget identity theft service for just $9 per month, and like Identity Truth protects your personal data by placing fraud alerts on your credit files to prevent thieves applying for credit undetected, and also monitors the Internet to ensure your personal data is not being traded or published anywhere online.

It is important that you take steps now to prevent identity theft, as the effects can be costly and it can take months or even years to clear your name.

Get credit fraud protection and learn how you can stop id theft from happening to you.

Trusted ID Review

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:22:00 +0000

Trusted ID provides an identity protection service, which can help prevent you and your family from becoming one of the growing numbers of victims of identity crimes. Trusted ID offers a variety of effective services under its main consumer identity protection plan:

* Lender Doublecheck - this feature ensures that creditors must verify all credit applications with you personally before they are authorized, which makes it much more difficult for thieves to successfully apply for credit in your name.

* Credit Check blocker - this stops unsolicited creditors from obtaining a copy of your credit report, and protects your information from third parties.

* Credit Reports - this gives you a free annual copy of your three main credit report files so you can check them for any suspicious activity, and Trusted ID will also notify you immediately of any unusual activity on these files.

* Insurance - this provides you with cover up to $1 million to help you resolve an identity theft case, and can be used to cover expenses and charges that are incurred.

* Family Plan - this provides the ID Freeze services for you and your family.

* Freeze - this feature allows you to freeze your credit file, which prevents anyone from accessing it and is a valuable tool if your identify has been stolen, preventing the problem from escalating any further. It can also be useful if you know you will not be applying for credit for some time, and can give you and your family piece of mind. If you do need to apply for legitimate credit in the future then you can contact Trusted ID directly and get this feature temporarily ‘unfrozen’.

* Customer Services - a twenty-four hour, seven day a week customer support service is offered by Trusted ID, and you can either phone direct, or email your queries.

Trusted ID is among one of more reasonable identity protection services at just $10 per month for individuals or $19.99 for basic family coverage, and for this you get a good, all round identity protection service with many effective and useful features.

Identity Guard Review

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:20:41 +0000

Anyone can become the victim of identity theft, and as this is one of the fastest growing crimes around the world it makes sense to get as much protection as you can for both you and your family. Identity Guard provides identity protection services in a range of prices that should suit most budgets, and there are four levels of security to choose from:

* ‘Good Start’ - is the basic identity theft protection package from Identity Guard and provides daily credit monitoring and alerts, to notify you of any changes to your credit files, so that you can detect any fraudulent applications for credit immediately and take steps to protect your credit and identity. This package includes a free customer service support number for your use.

* ‘Watchful Eye’ - this is the second level identity protection package and as well as the daily credit monitoring and alerts, it also includes extensive additional monitoring of the Internet, to detect if any online abuse of your personal data is being carried out. You can also register specific credit card numbers to ensure they are not being published or sold online by identity thieves. Like the Good Start package you will also have access to the free customer support number.

* ‘Extra Caution’ - this is the third level identity protection package, and as well as the monitoring, alert and free customer services features of the previous two packages, you also get access to all three of your main credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, which provide you with a comprehensive record of your credit history. This enables you to detect and report any suspicious activity, and will also appraise you of your credit score, so that you know what credit products you will personally be eligible to apply for in the future.

* ‘Total Protection’ - the top-level identity protection package, which incorporates all the benefits of the previous packages, plus public record monitoring and reporting, to protect information such as addresses, drivers license/passport information, social security/national insurance numbers and general assets. This Identity Guard package also comes with ZoneAlarm(r) Internet Security software, which can be installed onto your computer to detect and destroy malicious viruses and spyware programs.

Reference: id theft protection plan

Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:19:54 +0000

There are three main credit reference bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. They provide global credit information on consumers to creditors, and also to the consumers themselves so that they can check their own credit history.

Experian
Experian operates around the world, with its main operational basis in the UK. The company was founded in 1980 under the name CCN systems and increased its status by acquiring the US credit reporting business TRW Information Services in 1996, and various further acquisitions such as Emailing Solutions (leading e-mail marketing company) in 2007 has diversified its business streams, adding marketing solutions, interactive services and decision analytics to its original credit reporting services.

Experian holds extensive credit information databases, including information on 215 million consumers living in the US alone and is regulated by various authorities such as Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Experian has been criticized heavily in recent years (along with the other main credit reporting agencies) for charging consumers to view their own credit reports, and also gained a reputation for bad customer services, and was denounced by corporate customer service experts in 2006 for failing to provide customers with their customer service number.

Equifax
Equifax is one of the oldest credit reporting agencies, founded back in 1899, and is based in the US. Equifax holds credit information on over 400 million consumers around the world, and like the other main credit reporting bureaus has been criticized in the past for poor customer services.

Equifax provides detailed credit reports on consumers, including credit applications and payment history, which can be used by creditors to determine eligibility for credit applications, or by consumers to check their own credit history.

TransUnion
TransUnion offers credit reporting services to creditors and consumers, and was set up in 1968 by the Union Tank Car Company, and increased its business profile by taking over the Credit Bureau of Cook County in the following year. Like the other main credit reporting agencies poor customer services have consistently been a problem with TransUnion over the years, with many consumers finding it difficult and time consuming to get erroneous data deleted from their credit reports.

TransUnion Security Freeze

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:17:47 +0000

TransUnion are one of the main credit reference bureaus and can provide you with a comprehensive credit history report, and a number of additional features to help protect you identity. One of these is the TransUnion Security Freeze, which places a block on your credit report so that all official creditors will not be able to access your credit report without your permission. As most new applications for credit (loans, housing rental, licenses, mobile phone account credit cards etc…) require creditors to access your credit report first, this means that you will be notified of any applications made in your name before they are authorized, making it more difficult for your identity to be used without your knowledge to commit credit fraud.

The drawbacks of TransUnion Security Freeze is that you may find you experience delays with your own legitimate requests for credit, and you may have to temporarily lift the Freeze to allow the prospective lender to process your application. Also your personal data will not automatically be updated whilst your credit report is frozen, so if details such as your name or address have changed you will need to contact TransUnion directly to request that your data is updated.

TransUnion Security Freeze is available to all US consumers, and there may be a small fee in some cases for this service. This service only affects the TransUnion credit report, so if you wish to restrict access to your other main credit reports with Experian and Equifax you will need to contact them directly also.

To apply for TransUnion Security Freeze you can either go directly to the TransUnion website at www.transunion.com, or write to TransUnion, Fraud Victim Assistance Department, P.O. Box 6790 Fullerton, CA 92834. You can also request this process by calling direct on 888-909-8872, and the freeze will remain in place for up to seven years, or until you request its removal in writing.

Identity Truth Review

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:16:10 +0000

Identity Truth is one of the cheapest identity protection services currently available and is ideal for individuals and families on a tight budget. The annual plan is $99, which is just $8.25 per month, and even better value is the three-year plan at $229.99, which works out at just $6.40 per month. An additional bonus with the year plan is that a 30-day risk free trial is offered, so that you can test the service to see if it is suitable for your needs before you commit yourself.

Identity Truth provides members with access to up to date information about credit breaches in the business world, so that you can search the companies affected to see if you hold any information with them, enabling you take proactive steps to protect your identity. This service also actively monitors personal data such as credit history reports, bank accounts and credit card information, and reports any suspicious activity. Identity Truth also provide guides on how members can set fraud alerts on their credit history reports with the three credit bureaus Experian, Equifax and Transunion. This means that creditors will have to verify each application for credit before authorizing, which makes it much more difficult for criminals to use your name to fraudulently apply for loans, credit cards etc. The only problem is that you will have to reset these alerts every 90 days manually, unlike some of the other identity protection services such as LifeLock who carry out this task on your behalf.

Identity Truth is a very reasonable, basic identity protection service, but it only provides access to one of the main credit bureaus credit history report (Experian). The service would be more effective if it provided access to your other main credit reports with Equifax and TransUnion as well.