ID Theft Protection is still well worth it
Bottom Line: I guess it’s on Consumer Reports annual Spring checklist to put out negative pieces about ID theft protections services – suggesting you don’t need them, and it’s wasted money. Going back to 2013 they’ve had a string of negative pieces and recommendations about ID Theft Protection services, which means they’ve been wrong at least that long about this topic. As it turns out they did it again in April and it was brought to my attention yesterday. It’s been over two years since I’ve addressed the topic, but the facts are as true today as they’ve ever been. ID theft is massive and growing, and a good ID theft protection service can help.
Last year 16+ million Americans were nailed with ID theft and were taken for over $16.8 billion. Beyond the financial loss – the insecurity, stress and time associated with dealing with it is potentially worse. Consumer Reports and others who suggest that using credit freezes and free monitoring resources from credit card companies, etc., can do the trick are almost completely missing the point of what ID theft really is. ID theft isn’t someone who stole you credit card number. It also isn’t something that credit freezes can prevent.
Credit fraud is just one type of attempted crime for identity thieves. If your ID has been stolen and you have a credit freeze in place, you may not know if you're compromised in other ways until it's too late. If someone has your personal information here are some of the other issues you could face:
- Tax filing fraud
- Someone raiding your bank/investment accounts
- Document fraud (like a driver's license, insurance fraud, asset fraud - including title's to property you own etc.)
Good ID theft protection monitors everything that takes place with your personal information, not just credit accounts. Additionally, if you are victimized, they have resources to assist you in dealing with the issues. There are other fringe benefits that you might find value in as well, like regular updated credit scores from the actual credit rating agencies, antivirus software, etc.
I speak from experience. Unfortunately, I’ve had my ID stolen and numerous attempts over the years against me. Fortunately, my monitoring service has saved me every time by notifying me right away. I’ve stopped all of them in their tracks. Think of how much you spend annually for insurance products. For my money, ID theft protection is the cheapest and best value insurance on the planet.