Identity protection services

[Guest]

I've been having some problems with ID theft (someone tried to file a false 1040, open credit accounts). I'm thinking of signing up with one of these services. I'm thinking of ID Shield because they have a A rating with BBB and seem to offer better protection than LifeLock (which, nevertheless, has a A- rating). Any of you had the opportunity to use these services?

[+ Truereview]

Oh, oh...another one of my trigger points...sorry in advance for the long-winded post!

 

I've had banks offer these free to me based on breaches. ALLClear texts me anytime there is activity on my credit report. I get a monthly email from ITAC Sentinnel, which also provides quarterly credit score changes. I just got a free membership to Lifelock bc another one of my credit card companies was breached. I guess what I'm saying, Uni, is that in this day and age, this ID theft services are being offered for free bc so many financial services companies are getting hacked. I'm actually surprised you are not already getting free coverage by Amex, Visa, MC or some of the large banks like Chase or Wells. All of them have experienced breaches. Btw, if you have investments, your financial advisor should throw in a free ID theft membership. Mine did.

 

Also, most of my banks and credit cards have customizable alerts systems that I've set to kick off an email or text when either a large purchase ( you can tailor this) or transaction happens. Lastly, I narrowed down my life to 4 credit cards (one for each of the major credit card names) and I have no dept store cards. I check my balances and transactions weekly on these cards- I don't wait for the monthly statement. You can dispute transactions online without even having to talk to a rep. My admin does the same with my corporate card. The point is that fraudulent activity is the first step ID thieves take towards stealing your identity. If you can minimize fraudulent activity, these guys have so many other targets, they just move on to the next victim. Making yourself less vulnerable is a great line of defense.

[+ bashful]

All of them have experienced breaches.

 

Including the Federal Government. I'm now getting 3 years of free credit monitoring.

 

I don't wait for the monthly statement.

 

ditto

 

You can dispute transactions online without even having to talk to a rep.

 

In my opinion, American Express is the best ever to work with when there's a dispute. Bar none. I find calling them works best when I've had a dispute.

[+ ArVaGuy]

LifeLock was sued by the Federal Trade Commission for false claims in its advertising. In essence, the protection offered was no better than any other company and claims that its monitoring offered full protection were not true. Further, the company was slow to refund dissatisfied customers and did not always terminate credit card billing in a timely manner. The company paid a fine and was forced to change their advertisements. Pay very close attention to the disclaimer in their advertising, there are some exclusions that qualify the claims.