Services That Prevent Identity Theft Fraud

You may have seen the commercials for LifeLock, or seen their CEO on a news program fearlessly giving out his Social Security number to the millions of viewers. No doubt many of those watching are the very identity thieves you want to do you level best to keep numbers like that from! How on earth could he be that crazy? Every article on this site would tell you that you'd be bonkers to do that. In fact, time and again we've encouraged you to keep those numbers as close to the vest as possible. Well, he can do it because he has a service like LifeLock, whose mission is to prevent identity theft fraud from occurring. And if someone actually manages to steal his identity or to use his information to manufacture a new identity, LifeLock guarantees they'll fix the damage done. Does that kind of service sound good to you?

Here are number of the benefits of services that are in business to prevent identity theft from happening. backing him up. Not all services are equal or offer the same guarantees, but most will offer the following:

• Credit report monitoring: There are all kinds of ads and news reports telling you that you should keep tabs on your credit reports. Well, what good is that once your identity has been stolen and you credit has been trashed? What you want is someone who will monitor all three credit reporting bureaus - Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian - on your behalf for anything that pops up. And they will squelch any unauthorized request. And, as a part of their service, they will make sure you receive credit reports from the above agencies every year.
• Junk mail elimination: Your identity theft prevention service will go to great lengths to reduce or eliminate the amount of junk mail you receive. Items like unsolicited credit card applications and pre-approved loans are fertile ground for identity thieves bent on gaining private information. By reducing or eliminating you from their marketing lists through diligent opt-out programs, not only will you have less mail to sort through at your mailbox, those would-be criminals will have less to steal and gain your personal information through.
• Your personal assistant: When your pocket book or wallet are lost or stolen, there is a wealth of personal information and every credit card you happened to be carrying at the time. Your cellphone and all the rest is at their whim and their disposal. Without an identity theft prevention service at your beck and call, you would be responsible to call up every one of those card companies and cancel those cards. It would all be on your shoulders. But with one of those services, you can rest assured that your identity will be safe and that their reps will quickly contact the companies for you to freeze your accounts and establish new ones. And they will work to fix any damage that fast-acting criminals might have caused.
• Identity protection guaranteed: LifeLock, for example, offers an amazing $1 million guarantee with their service. Their customers are assured that should their various prevention tactics fail, and identity thieves make a mess of your credit and your name, they will spend up to that amount to set things right, even including the cost of private investigators and attorneys whose expertise will be brought to bear in your defense and in the prosecution of those responsible. And in the case of LifeLock for an incredibly low $10 a month!