Effectively Protecting Yourself Against Identity Theft

by erin on October 11, 2010

A TrustedID Coupon can give individuals and families total vigilance when it comes to protecting their identity from theft. It also helps with all the hassles that can accompany trying to untangle what a mess someone could create if they manage to steal an identity. Protection from identity theft is more than keeping passwords and social security numbers safe and out of the wrong hands, it includes several other steps.

With some companies that offer full protection packages, they also offer a threat score which is the number they will assign an individual for their overall ability to have their identity stolen. They will assess their online use, their current credit and other behaviors in order to come up with how much of a threat thieves are to their most intimate and private possession, their identity. Once this assessment has been completed, the company will be able to advice an individual on how to protect themselves against this growing trend of identity theft.

In addition to keeping private information private, one should also check their credit reports every couple of months so they are aware of any changes. Many companies will offer to monitor the three major credit bureaus on a daily or weekly basis for fraudulent activity, which would be included in the price of the monthly or yearly protection fee, but well worth it. If a credit report is not watched carefully, it could be months before the damage is discovered and it would be too late to catch the criminals plus correcting the problem will be harder the longer time passes.

Many thieves, once they have gained access to an individual’s social security or credit card information, will take out loans and apply for new credit. A good protection company will search the Internet for all unauthorized usage of their clients name, credit or other information. This will help to put a stop to thieves taking more money than an individual has and, will help to minimize the damage quicker if they are caught earlier.

One of the places individuals and families fail to check is with their medical insurance companies. Many thieves, once they gain access to a person’s information, take advantage of their medical programs and prescription drug programs. Several of the protection companies will regularly check with medical insurance companies to make sure that no one else is using a person’s benefits. This would not be an issue if more people asked for a photo ID when checking in patients.

There are several different options with some of the protection companies. For instance one of the choices is to have a fraud alert placed on all credit reports so that if new credit is about to be issued, the individual will be contacted first to make sure they have actually requested it. Many times an identity thief will take out credit cards or purchase big ticket items on credit using the stolen identity and will be long gone with the merchandise before the individual is aware of what has happened. Companies like the protection business will protect their clients from this type of action.

An identity theft protection company is worth the monthly or yearly fee if they stop someone from stealing a customers social security benefits, medical benefits or identity and credit. What a thief is actually stealing is a person’s good name and without that, that individual can not purchase the things they need. By being vigilant and watching the Internet and the credit reports, a protection company will be able to alert an individual, or family, when suspicious activity is happening and help them act upon it.

TrustedID services for maximum protection against Identity Theft are available online and could help with the headaches of getting ones life back together after someone has stolen their credit. A good protection company will monitor as much information as they possibly can and not only the credit scores and social security number. Identity thieves are smart; the identity protection companies have to be smarter.

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