Lock Down Your Identity

Choose an identity theft prevention plan from the three top-rated national providers
Prevent identity theft through careful monitoring
Resolve problems quickly and efficiently with expert assistance and $1-2 million guarantee

What the Media is Saying About the Top 3 Identity Theft Protection Services:

July 2007
"...which is where [identityTruth] comes in, searching underground criminal chatrooms on behalf of anyone wondering if their information has fallen into the wrong hands. A proactive and probing approach to keeping personal data secure."

September 2007
" Last year, more than 15 million people were victims of ID theft - costing them more than $60 billion and aggravation. To combat the rising ID theft problem, new companies have sprouted up. One of these companies, IndentityTruth.com, promises "the earliest possible notification" of a possible theft."

September 2007
"IdentityTruth looks for any addresses that might be associated with a customer's name. If an address is found that the customer doesn't recognize, it could point to a possible instance of fraud since another individual might have falsely filled out a change of address form to receive a person's sensitive information."

July 2007
"...LifeLock, a company based in Tempe, Ariz., that for $10 a month monitors credit reports for adults and cleans them up when there is a problem. Children can be added for $25 a year.."

November 2006
"LifeLock founder Davis is so confident he won't have to go through that ordeal that he even gives out his Social Security number--457-55-5462--as a dare to identity thieves; he says he'll get a call if anyone tries to use it. "That transaction is going to be stopped dead in its tracks, and the thief is going to move on to somebody else."

July 2006
"Every consumer should be able to stop ID theft before it starts" through control of their financial information and credit given out in their name. TrustedID helps consumers use new "credit freeze" laws -- now in force in 22 states and in the works in three more -- that let consumers lock their credit files so new lines of credit can't be opened unless they unfreeze their files first."

March 2006
"One of the toughest challenges for ID theft victims is trying to prevent the crime from happening all over again. But freezing your credit (a way of requiring that merchants and banks seek your verbal permission to open new credit in your name) is an arduous process involving sending registered mail to each of the three agencies. TrustedID wants to act as a single "on-off switch" for consumers, allowing them to freeze their accounts with all three credit bureaus at once, from the Web."

Identity theft protection

Identity Theft Protection

Identity thief Identity theft -- a catch-all term for crimes involving illegal usage of another individual's identity -- is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States and is now ranked as the fastest growing white-collar crime. Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, such as Social Security or credit card number, without your knowledge to fraudulently make purchases, obtain loans, or even to get a job, or worse, commit criminal acts in your name, leaving you responsible for the consequences.

Victims of identity theft don't just experience an inconvenience but often endure a range of serious life-disrupting consequences, including harassment by debt collectors, loss of credit and denial of loans, job loss, and even arrest for crimes committed by the identity thief. Unfortunately, it is the victim who is responsible for cleaning up the mess and reestablishing their good name and credit. According to a report by the CALPIRG Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, victims of identity theft spend, on average, 600 hours trying to clear damaged credit or criminal records caused by identity theft, and many victims never recover funds stolen from their bank accounts or other sources and fail to fully restore their good credit. Even as a victim of identity theft, your liability for charges can increase the longer the crime goes unreported. Yet the Federal Trade Commission reports that it takes identity theft victims an average of 12 months to notice a crime has occurred.

How do you know if you're the victim of identity theft?

Credit available? There are a number of important clues, such as finding unexplained charges or withdrawls from your financial accounts, receiving credit cards you didn't apply for, being denied credit or receiving less favorable credit terms for no apparent reason, receiving calls and/or letters from debt collectors about merchandise or services you didn't buy, or being contacted by law enforcement agencies about a crime committed in your name.

How to protect against identity theft?

Protecting your identity goes byeond checking your credit report once per year, especially since reacting swiftly in the event of a problem is essential. Three basic steps are involved to protecting yourself:

Locking down your personal credit information
Frequent and careful monitoring of your credit and other personal information
Reacting quickly and thoroughly in the event of a breach

What Exactly Does an Identity Theft Protection Service Do?

Security team An identity theft protection service serves as a one-stop center to help you protect against identity theft by applying the three steps mentioned above (1-locking down your personal information, 2-monitoring of credit and personal information and 3-reacting quickly if a breach occurs) and working on your behalf with the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Can't I do this myself? Yes. Consumers can work directly with the credit bureaus and do many of these tasks themselves, without the need of a service. But it can be a hassle. For example, you must remember to renew "Fraud Alerts" (see below) every 90 days. In addition to convenience, identity theft protection services also provide thorough 24/7 monitoring of information and email alerts in the case of suspected breaches, and provide the peace of mind that they will work with attorneys and other experts to restore your identity should the worst occur, with warranties of $1 or 2 million.

Lock down credit cards Identity theft protection services work with the three credit bureaus to place what is called a "fraud alert" in your credit file and renew it every 90 days. This means that creditors must contact you and/or take other reasonable steps to verify your identity and confirm that the credit application is not a result of identity theft. Placing a fraud alert on your credit profile also has the welcome benefit of reducing the amount of pre-approved credit offers that are sent to you in the mail. Such offers are a common source of identity theft as identity thieves steal them from mailboxes in well-to-do neighborhoods.

identityTruth's monitoring reports Once your credit records are secure, identity theft protection services monitor your personal information as early detection of a problem is critically important to minimizing the damage an identity thief can do. Some services monitor not only your credit information, but may also monitor specific accounts or suspicious information found on the Internet or in public records databases. Finally, should the worst occur, identity theft protection services will work with you to resolve the problem, including hiring attorneys and other experts if necessary, to make things right.

Recommendations

Identity theft prevention Below we compare the top three identity theft protection services. We recommend all three as each are well-established, provide excellent service and have enjoyed accolades from the media (see sidebar at left) and strong testimonials from their subscribers. But each provider offers something a bit different, so choose the one that best meets your needs.

Service/ Feature	Watch Video
Special Offer	Save $20 with 1 year subsription; Save $130 with 3 year subscription	10% Discount when ordered through this link	Save $45 with 1 year subscription
Pricing	$9.99/mo (or $99.99/yr; $229.99/3 yrs)	$10.00/mo (or $110.00/yr); enroll your kids for $2.50/mo ($25.00/yr)	$12.95/mo ($109.95/yr)
Identity Theft Insurance/ Warranty	$2 Million	$1 Million	$1 Million
Monitoring of Internet Web Sites & Public Records for Possible Fraud	Monitoring of Suspicious Internet Sites; Email Alerts of Detected & Potential Fraud Events	No	No
Credit Card Fraud Monitoring	Yes	No	Yes
Fraud Alerts Established with Credit Bureaus	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credit Reports Included per Year	One 3-Bureau Credit Report per year	One 3-Bureau Credit Report per year	One 3-Bureau Credit Report per year
Mailing List Removal	Removal from pre-approved credit card lists	Removal from pre-approved credit card and junk mail lists	Removal from pre-approved credit card lists
Additional Services	Identity Health Score provides you with a running assessment of your identity theft risk	WalletLock service provides a specialist to help contact credit card companies, banks and other agencies and close accounts in the event that you lose your wallet or purse.	CreditLock allows an individual to direct the three credit bureaus to only release their credit reports to third parties with permission. (This is also known as a "credit freeze.")
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Lock Down Your Credit Information

Lock down personal credit information Keep your personal credit information secure and verify that requests for your credit information are legitimate, not from potential identity thieves

Monitor and Detect Problems Swiftly

Monitor and detect problems Use sophisticated reporting and monitoring tools that keep track of your personal information 24/7 to make sure you know about a problem as quickly as possible.

Rely on Your Team

Your security team Rely not just on a web site, but on a dedicated, professional team to provide top-notch service and advice. Should the worst happen, your team will work to restore your identity and spend up to $1 or 2 million on your behalf.

Enjoy Peace of Mind

Enjoy peace of mind Relax and live your life without fear, knowing that you and your family are protected. Enjoy the convenience of a one-stop service to take care of all your needs.

Choose from the Top Three Identity Theft Prevention Services: