Identity Theft Services Explained
The number of identity theft cases over the last decade has gone through the roof. This is probably one of the most prolific white collar crime fields in the history of mankind. Criminals will use a huge range of practices to get access to your sensitive information, from traditional email phishing to showing up at your doorstep, dressed as police officers. Signing up with one of the many identity theft services out there is slowly, but steadily, becoming a must.
Long story short, such services will counsel you on how to protect your identity, call you up when your identity has been compromised and advise you on how to recover your identity.
When signing up with one of the many identity theft services, they will issue a fraud alert on your behalf. Creditors will, then, go into further detail when confirming your identity. They will, for instance, call you on the mobile phone you have listed with your credit card or refuse to ship a physical good to an address that’s not listed on your file. These fraud alerts act as an extra protection level for your credit.
A credit freeze is one of the options identity theft services offer. In exchange for a small fee—usually in the range of $10—you can freeze one or all of your credit accounts. Creditors cannot access your credit, but you can’t either. To reinstate your accounts, you will have to unfreeze them, in exchange for another free. This can be an excellent way of protecting your cards, but tends to cost a lot if you freeze and unfreeze your accounts frequently.
Identity theft services will also provide you with updates on your credit scoring. You should monitor your credit record closely and take action the very moment something unclear is brought to your attention. Make sure you receive the reports from all three bureaus, don’t just go with any of them. Some creditors will report your unpaid bills to only one agency. Ask the protection service to investigate it on your behalf, and work with them closely. Dispute any transactions that appear on file and aren’t yours.
Don’t wait, start today. Do your homework, read on what the many identity theft services out there have to offer and choose the best one for your needs and budget.