Why You Need an Identity Theft Protection Service
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Short and Sweet Summary: One of the biggest headaches of flying solo is the responsibility to manage your accounts and financial records all by yourself. You have enough to worry about without adding identity theft to the mix. Limit your online vulnerability and get some extra peace of mind with an expert identity theft protection service.
Do you have trust issues?
I mean, your person died. You’re alone. And now you have to figure everything out on your own.
One of the biggest headaches of flying solo is the responsibility to manage your accounts and financial records all by yourself. Do you have a hard time trusting that your money and credit cards and bank accounts are safe?
I’ll admit I do. I have a worst-case scenario mentality, so I can pretty much think of at least ten ways someone or something can hack into my accounts and take advantage of me.
It’s not normal inside my head.
Seriously, though. Data breaches are way too common these days. Identity theft is on the rise. And credit card fraud is quickly outpacing other common types of fraud like tax or benefits fraud.
It’s crazy out there in cyberspace.
In my quest to protect my online vulnerability, I researched several identity theft protection services and settled on monitoring my identity with Identity Guard.
I’ve had an Identity Guard account for 7+ years and I LOVE it.
I could go on and on about why you need an identity theft protection service. I mean, cybercrime statistics pretty much say it all. But let’s cut to the chase and discuss exactly what Identity Guard monitors and protects.
Plus, four specific reasons why I LOVE it and continue to use it year after year.
WHAT DOES IDENTITY GUARD DO?
Have hackers tried to scam you or have the recent data breaches like Equifax, Marriott (twice!), or Capital One exposed your personal data?
Even if you can’t definitively point to a personal data breach, chances are good that your personal information is exposed or manipulated through any number of online portals.
The risk of identity, credit card, or other online theft is high these days, it’s important to monitor your personal information on a regular basis. The thing is, I don’t have the time or inclination to continually monitor all my personal accounts. Not to mention my credit cards and my credit report. I’m sure you don’t either.
All things considered, the easiest way to monitor your personal information is to sign up for an identity theft protection service like Identity Guard that does all the monitoring for you.
What, exactly, do they monitor and how does it benefit you?
Monitor social security number
Identity Guard monitors your social security number on your credit report and the Internet’s “black market,” including the dark web and deep web.
Thieves use social security numbers to open, close, or alter accounts all the time. Because of this, it alerts you to any detected personal and financial information changes using your social security number.
Expose unusual credit card and credit report activity
After you register your credit cards in your account, internet monitoring and lost or stolen card protection begins. If your credit card number is detected on the dark web, you can receive an alert. You can also be notified of any detected credit report inquiries. If Identity Guard finds someone opening a new credit card account in your name, you can be alerted. Every day your credit file is monitored for activities that could indicate fraud.
As a result, I feel much better now that my credit card info is all in one place. Because if my purse or wallet ever gets stolen, all I need to do is call Identity Guard. They will take care of canceling all of my registered credit cards and can help me review my credit report for potential fraud.
Disclose address changes
They can alert you if someone files a Change of Address with the United States Postal Service. A thief could submit an address change to reroute mail your mail and receive all your personal correspondence. Thieves could use personal information from your bank statements and bills to make changes to your accounts, or worse.
Review bank accounts
Your bank accounts are better protected because you’ll be notified if a bank or investment account in your name has been opened, closed, or changed.
Provide theft expense coverage
They provide up to $1,000,000* in coverage if you need to recoup certain identity theft expenses. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions.
WHAT MAKES IDENTITY GUARD DIFFERENT?
Several companies provide identity theft protection services. So, what specifically makes Identity Guard different and better than all the rest?
Use of artificial intelligence
Identity Guard’s monitoring capabilities are second-to-none because they’re the only provider in the industry partnered with IBM® Watson™ artificial intelligence.
Especially important are alerts tailored to you based on your online activity. For example, if you’re Dropbox user and Dropbox experiences a data breach, you’ll be notified. However, if you tell Identity Guard you don’t use Dropbox, the notification thread will exclude you.
Speed of alerts
An independent third party company tested the speed of their alerts against the competition and found Identity Guard alerts were the fastest1. In fact, alerts go out within seconds of an event taking place.
Restoration services
Their call center is 100% based in the United States, in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The average tenure of agents who handle ID theft-related calls is 8 years. They also assign members with a dedicated case agent so members interact with the same agent every time they call in. Those agents continue monitoring the member’s case for up to 60 days after account closure.
History
They have protected over 47 million consumers since they were founded in 1996. They fully understand the burden identity theft can have on an individual (or a family) and have innovated their service over the past 20+ years in order to stay one step ahead.
WIDOW WRAP UP
As more and more businesses and services become digital, it’s imperative to protect your personal information online. Let’s face it, identity theft continues to grow because criminals keep getting smarter. It’s almost impossible to stay one step ahead and keep the bad guys from getting control of your information.
You have enough to worry about without adding identity theft to the mix. It’s extremely stressful and time-consuming to monitor your accounts all the time.
Limit your online vulnerability and get some extra peace of mind with an expert identity theft protection service like Identity Guard.
*Identity Theft Insurance underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group‚ Inc. The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms‚ conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms‚ conditions‚ and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions.
1ath Power Consulting, February 2018
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