Lifelock or TrustedID:Which Service Is Right For You?

Updated July 19, 2010

• Read our detailed Lifelock review
• Read our detailed TrustedID review

We live in a world of uncertainty, and more and more people are becoming concerned about the safety of their identities. We also have more choices than ever before and it can be confusing trying to determine what you need to protect yourself and which product will offer you the greatest security.

If you’ve done any research at all then you’ve come across some experts recommending Lifelock and others TrustedID. Both identity theft services have recently introduced upgraded and improved versions of their flagship protection plans. Lifelock launched Command Center™ last December and TrustedID introduced IDEssentials™ in July of this year.

As the identity fraud protection industry has evolved, many popular services have moved toward a monitoring detection type service. This is an admission in the industry that complete identity protection is virtually impossible. Tech savvy identity thieves can hack into databases and steal millions of records without anybody realizing it.

Both Lifelock and TrustedID understand this and have taken a very similar approach to identity theft protection. We’ll expose some of the similarities as well as differences between these two popular services.

	Command Center	IDEssentials
Price	$13.50/month	$10.42/month
Promotion	30 Days Free & 10% Off	15 Days Free Trial
Coverage	$1 Million Total Service Guarantee	$1,000,000 Service Warranty
Protection Type	Fraud Alerts/Scanning	Fraud Alerts/Credit Monitoring
Credit Monitoring	No	Instant 3 Bureau Report
Credit Reports	Annually Major Bureaus
Credit Score	No
Family Plan	No
Credit Freezes	No
Anit-Virus/ Spyware	No
Sex offender Reports		No
PayDay Loans	No

How are Lifelock and Trusted ID Similar?

• Opt-out of pre-approved credit offers
• Have a $1,000,000 warranty
• Fraud Alerts (Called ‘Lender DoubleCheck’ by TrustedID)
• Order yearly credit reports
• Wallet protection
• Scan internet black markets looking for misuse of your information
• 24/7 on call helpline

Both LifeLock and Trusted ID will remove you from junk mail lists and place fraud alerts on your behalf. They will also scan the internet for your information on the web. They look for your date of birth, address and social security number and notify you immediately if any activity is found with your information attached to it. With Trusted ID you can even ask them to watch for your bank account and credit card number.

Both services also offer wallet protection which can give you some small sense of security when your wallet is gone. Having someone to call and help you take the necessary steps to replace your license, insurance cards, and other forms of ID as well as helping you with canceling and replacing your credit and debit cards can be a great comfort.As you can see, both LifeLock and Trusted ID offer very similar coverage and have very similar basic features.

How Do Lifelock and Trusted ID Differ?

• Read our detailed Lifelock review
• Read our detailed Trusted ID review

Credit Report Monitoring

With the introduction of IDEssentials, TrustedID added credit monitoring of your report and score with all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. TrustedID will scan your reports daily and alert you if they detect any fraudulent or suspicious activity. Lifelock does not offer credit monitoring.

Credit Freezes

Like Lifelock, Trusted ID sets and renews fraud alerts every ninety days. What sets TrustedID apart is the option to place credit freezes on your credit file, a far more secure measure of protection. (Read our article on Fraud Alerts vs Credit Freezes for more information) While you can do this yourself, having a service perform this for you can come in handy when you can’t remember your PIN number.

Personal Information Scanning

Lifelock recently launched their Command Center which actively monitors unregulated internet and file sharing networks for your personal information. In addition they scan payday loans, sex offender registries, and other public records to find your information. If they find it, they’ll alert you by email and help protect you against accidental information disclosures.

Anti Virus Protection

Trusted ID also keeps an eye on your computer, giving you an anti-spyware program that can be installed on as many as three computers. An unsecured computer is at high risk for hackers, spyware and viruses, and a good protection program can cost you as much as $100 a year. With trusted ID, not only does this software automatically update every day, it is given to you at no charge so long as you have an account with Trusted ID. This benefit almost pays for the cost of protection itself.

Lost Wage Coverage

Probably the greatest difference between LifeLock and Trusted ID is in the fine print of their identity theft insurance guarantees. While both claim to have $1,000,000 policies, they cover very different things. According to the non profit Identity Theft Resource Center, the primary financial loss of identity theft victims are the lost wages involved when they need to spend 30-60 hours contacting their financial institutions and clearing up their credit.

Unfortunately, Lifelock’s policy does not cover lost wages while Trusted ID offers an industry best $5,000 /4weeks. Most of Lifelock’s coverage is for hiring attorneys and investigators to “clear your good name”, something most cases of identity theft probably don’t require. Most victims of identity theft do need to spend countless hours calling their credit card companies and filling out fraud affidavits. Trusted ID will reimburse you for this time while Lifelock will not. You can read more about Identity Theft Insurance here.

Family Coverage

Another large difference is family coverage. Lifelock doesn’t offer any discounts to cover your spouse, elderly grand parents and charges $25/year to cover minor children. Trusted ID covers the entire household living under one roof for less than the cost another policy.

To illustrate the wide disparity in cost; for a family of 2 adults and two minor children, the cost of protection for Lifelock would be $347/year ($148.50 for each adult and $25 for each child). Trusted ID’s coverage would only be $240.00 These are advertised prices and if you use any of our links, you’ll receive significant discounts.

Large families need family pricing

For a larger family, the price differences are more dramatic. For the same family living with two grandparents, the Lifelock plan would cost $643/year and TrustedID would be unchanged at $240.00/year (provided all the adults are part of the same household). Anyway you look at it, these are significant savings.

If you’re known to the public as “octomom” or your last name is “Duggar”, then it’s really a no-brainer. If the Octomom were covered by Lifelock, she would need to pay $348.50 while the near identical coverage from TrustedID would be $240.00.

The Duggar family from Discover Channel fame would pay $747 for their 18 children with Lifelock and with TrustedID, you guessed it, $240.00. I sense a sponsorship deal here somewhere.

These may be extreme examples but a large majority of victims come from families and it certainly makes sense to protect the identities of those you care about.

Our Opinion

LifeLock and Trusted ID both have reputations of stability and trustworthiness, and in the end both of them are good choices to help protect you from identity theft. We feel that TrustedID edges out Lifelock as a service that offers more for less.

In addition to almost everything Lifelock offers, with Trusted ID, you have the option to place credit freezes, free virus /spyware protection for your computers, credit monitoring, your credit score, medical benefits review, and when looking to add a child, spouse, or grandparent to your coverage, TrustedID has the best pricing available.

Lifelock did pioneer the entire identity protection industry and was the first to offer a million dollar warranty but the value in TrustedID’s offerings is just to strong to ignore. It’s almost like TrustedID was designed to imitate Lifelock, offer more, and then charge less.

Before making a final decision take the time to ask what services are important to you. How much coverage do you need, and how many people in your house do you need to protect? Both LifeLock and Trusted ID are companies with good reputations who will help protect you from identity theft and, should the worst happen, help you regain your identity and your credit.

• Visit Lifelock 10% Discount and 30 Days Free
• Visit Trusted ID 15 Days Free Trial

Will The Best Identity Theft Service Please Stand Up?

This is a comparison between the flagship services of Lifelock and Identity Guard: Lifelock’s Command Center and Identity Guard’s Total Protection.

One reason we won the cold war was we simply outspent the Soviet Union. There was no way centralized planning could keep up with a capitalist economy. Things like tanks, ships, and fighter jets are notoriously expensive to buy and maintain and the Soviet Union literally bankrupt themselves trying to keep up.

Identity Guard and especially Lifelock have taken the United States playbook and must be outspending their competition at some obscene ratio. Their advertisements are everywhere: on the web, television, print media, and on the radio. One of the likely reasons you’ve found this page is you’re considering an identity theft service and have heard about Lifelock or Identity Guard. That’s the power of branding.

Lifelock introduced Command Center in December 2009 amid much fanfare and it’s a much needed upgrade from their original service. Lifelock will now scan public databases, court records, and even sex offender registry reports for your information. With this new service Lifelock is essentially admitting that’s it’s near impossible to prevent identity theft and instead focuses on an early warning system to prevent the theft from getting beyond your control to resolve it.

Identity Guard of course has been singing this tune all along. While Lifelock probably has more brand recognition, Identity Guard from Intersections Inc. has been successfully fighting identity theft for more than 14 years for some of the biggest names in financial services. So how do these two detection services compare?

	Command Center	Total Protection
Price	$15/month	$17.99month
Promotion	30 Days Free & 15% Off	30 Days Free
3 Bureau Credit Score	No
Monitors Equifax Report	No
Monitors Experian Report	No
Monitors TransUnion Report	No
Anit-Virus Spyware	No
Protects Address
Scans For SSN
Scans For Credit Cards
Scans For Bank Account Information
Scans For Payday Loan Activity
Sex Offender Registry Reports
Public Records
Court Records
Guarantee	$1 Million Total Service Guarantee	$1 Million Loss Reimbursement

So Why Doesn’t Lifelock Offer Credit Monitoring?

While it’s true that identity theft occurs beyond your credit report, experts agree the best way to detect identity theft is through monitoring your credit report. So why does Lifelock leave this important feature out? Only Lifelock knows but I’d hazard a guess it has something to with the costs involved. Identity Guard pays the three major credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian) for access to the credit reports. Somebody in Lifelock’s management decided to pursue detection technology outside your credit report.

It’s not hard to understand the strategic thinking behind this decision. This way Lifelock isn’t beholden to the credit reporting agencies it has a somewhat fractious relationship with and can offer consumers services unique to Lifelock.

But by not offering credit monitoring services is Lifelock shortchanging their customers? I think so. Do you think an identity thief will be better detected by monitoring court records and sex offender registry reports or by the daily monitoring of all three credit reports? Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Lifelock

• Read our detailed Lifelock review

Lifelock initiates fraud alerts on your behalf with all 3 major credit bureaus. Fraud alerts require creditors to confirm your identity by phoning to verify the request for credit. The weakness in this type of plan is threefold.

• First, even if fraud alerts were a surefire way to protect against identity fraud, it only protects you against the opening of new accounts. What about your existing accounts? If you lose your wallet, the identity thief will have access to your identification card, home address, and other information.
• Second, fraud alerts are not fool proof. Creditors have and will continue to extend credit without checking your credit file. According to the advocacy group Consumer Action, fraud alerts are only effective in about 75 percent of the cases. The only way to restrict access to your credit file is with a credit freeze, something LifeLock does not do.
• Third and most importantly, your information is already out there. You can take every precaution in the book but what happens to your auto loan application after you fill it out? How about your mortgage application or that new credit card? The truth is, you actually have very little control over the access to your own private identifying information. Fraud alerts won’t protect you.

Identity Guard

• Read our detailed Identity Guard review

Identity Guard doesn’t offer fraud alerts. Maybe it’s because they believe they’re not effective or its incredible easy to set up yourself – for whatever reason Identity Guard focuses entirely on monitoring your credit report in near real time. You have UNLIMITED access to not only your credit report but your credit score as well. In addition to all this, Identity Guard offers a host of products that depending on your tech level, may offer incredible value. To somebody like myself who’s always online, I find the additional features like ID Vault®, Mobile Lockbox®, and ZoneAlarm® incredibly useful but to someone who’s not technically inclined – these features would be of limited value.

Opinion

Lifelock built its entire protection service around placing and renewing fraud alerts. Lifelock was doing this when nobody else was and if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Lifelock should be flattered. There are numerous companies that imitate what Lifelock does. They were also the first to offer a million dollar guarantee which everybody also copied. Throw in a CEO who publicly announces his social security number in the press and dares identity thieves to steal it, and it’s no wonder Lifelock is the market leader. Lifelock has brilliant marketing and it resonates with consumers. But while all this may sound lovely at a shareholder meeting, is it truly effective? Is it better than credit monitoring?

If it’s Lifelock or nothing, by all means choose Lifelock. Get some measure of protection for your identity. But if its a choice between fraud alerts and credit monitoring? I choose credit monitoring. There is simply no way to guarantee the security of your personal information. Monitoring your credit file daily for any changes is the best way to protect your identity, your property, and your life.

Visit Lifelock for more information.

Visit IdentityGuard for more information

IDENTITY GUARD® Total ProtectionSM, The Cadillac Of Identity Theft Protection

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Identity Guard should consider itself flattered. Not too long ago, before consumer lawsuits forced Lifelock to change its business model, companies like Lifelock centered their identity protection strategies around placing and renewing fraud alerts.

Now while studies show that fraud alerts can help secure access to your credit file, nobody will argue that it’s a foolproof way to prevent identity theft. In fact, a significant amount of fraud occurs with unauthorized access to existing accounts, something fraud alerts and credit locks will do absolutely nothing to prevent. Despite all the marketing you might see or hear, there is no way to completely safeguard you from identity fraud.

Identity Guard understands this and focuses all their resources into creating an advanced credit monitoring service. Unlike Lifelock or other competitors, you have unlimited online access to credit report monitoring and your credit score. There are many other cool features to Identity Guard’s Total Protection like IDVault® and MOBILE LOCKBOX® which will have technophiles smiling but the core of their service is the advanced public database scanning and credit monitoring system.

How Do They Protect You?

Personal Identity Dashboard

• Daily Credit Application Scanning

Identity Guard uses a proprietary system to regularly scan credit application databases for fraudulently submitted credit applications in your name.

• Quarterly Access To Credit File Score

Every three months you will receive to your credit file score with all 3 credit reporting agencies. In addition Identity Guard will monitor your credit file score daily with all three credit bureaus for maximum security and will email you if there are any changes to your credit file score.

• Scans Internet

Monitors internet black market sites where personal data is bought and sold for your personal information. You will be alerted promptly if any of your information is compromised.

• ZoneAlarm® Internet Security Suite

ZoneAlarm is an award winning security software which includes anti-virus, spyware, firewall, spam blocking, and stealth mode all which will greatly reduce the risk of personal; information hijacking on the internet. You will receive the software and updates free during the life of your subscription.

• PRIVACYPROTECT™

PRIVACYPROTECT™ is anti-key logging software which will encrypt every keystroke while you browse the internet to prevent identity thieves from recording your passwords.

• MOBILE LOCKBOX™

This is an innovative product from Identity Guard which will allow you to remotely secure your sensitive information, personal records, and important financial documents on Identity Guard’s servers. All this information will be available to you anywhere anytime via your web-enabled cell phone, PDA, or computer.

• Lost Wallet Protection

Identiy Guard will assist you in canceling all your credit card accounts plus give you access to $2,000 emergency cash from your account.

• $1,000,000 Identity Theft *Insurance

This policy is underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh and covers expenses related to recovering from an identity theft including wage losses.

• ID Valut

ID Vault looks like a USB memory stick, but its actually a key that padlocks your identity. It protects you against cyber criminals, spyware, and other tricks criminals use to steal your passwords or account numbers.

What Do They Do Better Than Anybody?

The proprietary technology behind some of the products available to Identity Guard separates it from most other identity theft protection companies. While other companies focus on fraud alerts and credit freezes, Identity Guard takes a different approach. Drawing from their years of experience working with top financial institutions, Intersections has developed a sophisticated consumer protection package centered around the Total Protection Dashboard which allows you to monitor your credit file score and your internet protection services.

Credit Monitoring

Fraud Alerts and Credit Freezes are like locking the door to your valuables. While this approach works well for preventing identity thieves from opening new lines of credit, it does very little to protect your existing accounts from fraud. Reviewing your credit file score annually may alert you to fraudulent activity but the damage to your credit and accounts will already have occurred.

Monitoring your credit file score daily, and alerting you to any changes by text message or email allows you to promptly detect any suspicious activity. The near real time monitoring of all your credit reports and credit score only enhances the careful eye Identity Guard keeps over you.

Internet Security

The award winning Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite along with PrivacyProtect provides you with first rate computer and internet security. Also, Identity Guard scans the internet’s financial black markets daily for your registered information, including Social Security Number, credit cards, and bank accounts.

PC Security

Features like PRIVACY PROTECT and IDVAULT makes your computer virtually impossible for hackers to steal information. No other identity protection service offers this level of sophisticated protection.

What Kind Of Customer Prefers This Service?

A tech savvy consumer who can appreciate the proprietary tools Identity Guard provides to greatly enhance the ability to monitor and control your credit file score. The additional first-rate computer and internet protection offers total protection where identity theft victims are most vulnerable, surfing the internet.

Why Should You Consider Anybody Else?

The absence of fraud alerts and credit freezes means your credit file score is as vulnerable as before. While Identity Guard believes the sophisticated credit monitoring services they employ would detect and minimize any fraud, some consumers would like the protection these tools were designed to provide. The use of fraud alerts and credit freezes are central parts of the theft protection strategies of companies like Lifelock, TrustedID, and Equifax.

ProtectMyID.com from Experian offers a more affordable version of three bureau credit monitoring. You can read a detailed ProtectMyID review here.

Give It To Me Straight

The question with Idenity Guard becomes one about credit monitoring versus fraud alerts. If you believe Lifelock’s commercials, the marketing message is fraud alerts are proactive and credit monitoring is reactive. But how proactive are they? Remember that fraud alerts and credit freezes on your file do nothing to protect your existing accounts. If an identity thief has secured enough vital information to open new accounts, doesn’t he have the ability to tamper with your existing accounts as well?

The advantages to be able to recognize and react quickly to any changes in your credit file score cannot be understated. Certainly Identity Guard provides a degree of monitoring and control over your information no other company offers. Add the plethora of additional useful products such as ID Vault, Privacy Protect, Mobile LockBox, and the award-winning Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite and you’re talking some serious value for the consumer. Personally, I prefer Identity Guard Total Protection and find all the products and features incredibly useful.

If Lifelock and TrustedID claim to lock the doors to your house with fraud alerts and credit freezes, even they’ll admit there are cracks in that door. Identity Guard may leave that door open, but they’re watching your back. If anybody comes in and they’ll text, phone, or email you if they see anything suspicious.

Try Identity Guard FREE For 30 Days

**Reimbursement will be provided by insurance carrier. Insurance underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. The description herein is a summary only. It does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for complete details of coverage and exclusions. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions and is subject to actual policy language.

DISCLAIMER: Intersections, IDENTITY GUARD, EXTRA CAUTION, PRIVACYPROTECT, MOBILE LOCKBOX and Total Protection are federally registered trademarks of Intersections Inc.

We all know the holidays are a peak time for many businesses including the folks at Amazon. We are busier than ever ordering gifts online trying to make it in time for the holidays and scammers have prepared for all the holiday shopping that’s being done online, targeting Amazon shoppers.

Scammers are counting on you to click before you think. After you purchase your items at Amazon, scammers are blasting inboxes with an email that looks familiar saying, “Your order has been shipped!” But the confirmation looks as if your credit card has been used for something you didn’t order. And this is where they get you, when you click on the link inside this perfectly thoughout page designed to hook you, they try to get your private information. Then what? Then they got you. Or even worse, they infect your computer with a virus.

Amazon has set up an alert that gives instructions on what to do if you get an unexpected email claiming to be Amazon. They have specific instructions on how to handle these emails and asks you to forward these emails to stop-spoofing@amazon.com.

Verizon Wireless was also a target for scammers that are sending email alerts about updating your Verizon account. Scammers have made spot on copies of the company’s actual website–until you look closely, where in fine print on of bottom of the email you’ll find an expired date.

A spokesman for Verizon says they would never send out emails like that. No company would. But how do we know? These are elaborate, well thought out, and even the best of us can be fooled.

The scammers are just after your account number and password. The FTC encourages consumers to learn more about phishing traps and how to protect yourself. There are many ways you can protect yourself and to minimize your risk of becoming a victim. You can protect your social security number, treat your trash and mail carefully, be on guard when using the internet, select intricate passwords, verify sources before sharing information, safeguard your purse and wallet, store information in secure locations, and get identity theft protection.

While nothing can guarantee that you won’t become a victim, it is best to minimize your risk before you find yourself filing a complaint with the FTC and with no money in the bank. Read our review on Lifelock identity theft protection services.

Three weeks ago Dannica Dillenbeck, a teenager from Albany, Texas found herself filing for identity theft in Mission, Texas after discovering that her identity had been stolen.

Dillenbeck, 17, who has been searching for a job for a year, tried to fill out a job application for the Walmart store in Albany and found out she was already employed by the company. According to Walmart records, her social security number already existed in their system.

“I’ve never been employed anywhere,” Dillenbeck said.

So she and her mother went to the Albany Social Security office, and then called the Mission police to report the fraud- a case number was issued.

In the meantime, Dillenbeck contacted FTC, the Federal Trade Commission which aids the public in trying to resolve identity theft problems, and the credit report agency to report the fraud.

An arrest was made, and the man behind this fraud was an illegal alien named Alfonso Martinez from Mission that had purchased Dannica’s number for $200.

According to Steven Toporoff of the FTC, this problem is becoming more frequent and identity theft has been growing, with an estimated 140,000 cases of child identity theft alone in the past few years. This is a problem that is becoming more common. Medical records of children and school systems are being targeted by organized groups because it’s available to them, and it runs in the thousands. Children are easy targets because it usually takes much longer for the theft to be discovered. Which in Dillenbeck’s case she woud have only found out after Walmart reported taxes to the IRS. Eventually leading to getting a letter from the IRS saying she owed taxes.

Unfortunately, Dillenbeck’s problem is not completely solved, because her number is still out there circulating the underground world of available social security numbers.

With more and more people, including children being a victim of identity theft, the Social Security administration recognizes this growing problem and is trying to minimize the threat by randomizing numbers to eliminate patterns, will get rid of its current use of the geographic significance attached to the first three digits and also change the way it issues the fourth and fifth digits.

Attorney General Kamala Harris, who created an “e-Crime unit” so that California can be a leader in using innovative law enforcement techniques to target criminals, says consumers and businesses in the Golden Gate will now have a much needed unit to fight categories of crimes from internet fraud, theft of computer components and devices, intellectual property crimes and identity theft. About 1 million Californians are victims of identity theft annually– amounting to $46 million in losses last year alone.

California joins Texas, Florida and Louisiana, which also have cybercrime units, though California’s scope and mandate will be much broader. Texas’s and Florida’s cybercrime units focus almost exclusively on online child pornography. Louisiana’s unit, which is broader in scope, is a three-person team: an investigator, a prosecutor and a forensics specialist.

There’s a lack of technical know-how at many law enforcement agencies throughout the world, who don’t realize that cybercrime presents a big threat. Harris said some govenment offices in California still are lagging technologically. In order to change this, Harris is also opening a tech center in Fresno to train and assist law enforcement authorities with high-tech investigations, including how to use GPS to determine when and where a cellphone photo was taken and to retrieve evidence from smartphones.

The unit now has 20 active cases and 17 more that are under investigation. Cases such as the possession of counterfeit jewelry from five different companies, and identity-theft scam at ATM vestibules accross seven counties are all being handled by this unit. But are we safe from being a victim?

Survey Reveals That Millions of Social Media Users at Risk of Identity Theft

Harris Interactive, a leading company specializing in communications tools that survey consumers, recently conducted a survey of users on social networking sites. The survey found that a high percentage of users inadvertently reveal information on social networking sites that could lead to identity theft.

The Harris Interactive survey found that more than 13 million Americans that use social networking sites are willing to accept requests to be friends from strangers and mainly those of the opposite sex. According to the survey, about five percent of adult Americans will accept a friend request from someone they do not know, nearly seven percent of women will accept a request from a man they do not know, and 18 percent of men will accept a request from a woman who they do not know.

Also, the Harris Interactive survey showed that fifty percent of American adults trust their connections to keep their personal information private while more than 24 million Americans leave most of their information public on social networking sites. The results originate from a survey conducted of 1,011 Americans that are 18 years of age or older and includes 387 that are on social networking sites.

The Harris Interactive Key to Identity Theft on Social Networks

Although most adults are aware of the dangers of leaving personal information public, some are unaware of some of the basic information that can expose you to identity theft. For this reason, many social networking users leave personal information public that they would never suspect a criminal would use to steal an identity.

In a news release by CNET on the Harris Interactive survey, the key to identity theft on social networking sites is built with a handful of pieces. The problem is that a lot of this information is openly available on social networks. Harris Interactive described the pieces of this information in a diagram of a key which consisted of eight pieces.

The information that some social networking users consider basic are part of the eight pieces to the key including birthplace, address, phone number, school attended, the name of your pet, car color, social security number, and date of birth. When you look at it some of this information can be used to answer security questions on financial information where other information can be used to steal an identity outright.

Everyone likes to have others remember their birthday however when this information is posted online even without the year as part of the date it can be openly used by criminals to commit identity theft. Although a car color may seem insignificant this type of information could be used to answer a security question. The same rule applies to the name of your pet when you think about some of the security questions you are asked to answer if you forget a password to one of your accounts.

So the point of the survey is that Americans often lack caution when it comes to the type of information they make public on social networking sites. This could come from lack of understanding of how online criminals work or from being too trusting of others in an environment where friending others is not risk-free.

For more information on how services like Lifelock and TrustedID and protect you, read our identity protection reviews here.

Intersections pointed out that recent statistics that were released by the Department of Justice at the close of 2010 revealed that approximately 11.7 million people were victims of identity theft between 2008 and 2010. In a recent report on identity theft, Intersections listed the top methods that criminals use to steal your identity. According to the Identity Guard report criminals use the following methods:

Read our detailed Identity Guard review

Spyware

This is malicious software that tricks unsuspecting users into downloading software that is capable of collecting your personal information from your PC and sending it back to a remote server where it is harvested by criminals for illegal use. The software usually disguises itself as a fake antivirus or anti-malware program and tricks you into believing your PC has a virus and in order to remove it you must purchase the bogus software. While your attention is diverted, the program downloads spyware into your PC to spy on all of your computing activity.

Phishing Messages

These are messages that you receive in your email that appear to be from your financial institution or other source that requires you to enter personal information. It usually states something like to continue using your account you must click on the included link and log in to verify your personal information. The website where you log in is made to look very much like your financial institution site when in reality the information you enter goes to the criminal’s site.

Phone Scams

Phone scams where criminals pose as an authorized person from your financial institution and request your personal and financial information to continue using your account. If you use caller ID there is software that the criminal can use to disguise their telephone number to look like it is coming from your financial institution.

ATM Scams

Everyday locations such as ATM machines and other places where you swipe your card may have a card reader or hidden camera installed by the criminal to read your credit card information or PIN number. Recently criminals have gone as far as hacking into the computer system in ATM machines to gather financial information for illegal use.

Data Breaches

Data breaches can occur from companies you trust where your financial or personal information is accidentally compromised due to a criminal that hacked into the system and breached data security.

These are a few of the ways that identity theft can occur. Identity Guard recommends that you should be careful when providing your personal information, take precautions when opening your email and surfing the Internet, and take a proactive approach to installing multiple forms of protection on your PC. Additionally, identity theft can still occur so it is a good idea to use an identity theft protection service to notify you if there has been a potential breach and to help you pick up the pieces if you have become a victim of identity theft.

The Federal Trade Commission recently issued helpful information for health care and insurance providers in a new publication called Medical Identity Theft FAQs for Health Care Providers and Health Plans. The publication provides tips on how to help patients reduce the risks of medical identity theft as well as how to deal with the consequences of medical identity theft. According to the FTC, identity theft is the most common complaint submitted by the consumer to the nation’s consumer protection agency.

What the FTC’s Publication Offers

Like other forms of identity theft, medical identity theft is becoming a growing problem with more patients finding charges on their health care bill for medical services they did not receive. The FTC’s new publication, Medical Identity Theft FAQs for Health Care Providers offers the following information:

• How to Know if Your Are a Victim of Medical Identity Theft: The publication outlines what the patient should look for if they have become a victim of medical identity theft including unexplained charges for medical services, collection agents calling regarding bills that the patient does not owe, collection information submitted to the patient’s credit report, or insurance denial due to a medical condition the patient does not have, and much more.
• Procedure for Health Care Providers: The FTC publication advises health care providers and insurers of how to go about the process if they discover that a patient has become a victim of medical identity theft. A clear explanation is provided on how to proceed with an investigation, conduct a review of data security practices, and other information that pertains to the investigation.
• How to Deal with the Patient: There is a host of advice in the publication on how to inform a patient of medical identity theft. The information includes advising a patient of their rights with regard to HIPAA, advising victims on how to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, alerting the credit reporting companies, sending a copy of a police report to their health care plan provider, and advising patients on how to look for other breaches of their personal information by requesting a credit report or working with an identity theft protection agency.
• How to Help the Patient: For further assistance to the patient, health care providers and insurers are advised to obtain copies of a brochure on Medical Identity Theft published by the Federal Trade Commission for use in medical offices, websites, and newsletters. The brochure has advice for the patient on how to prevent medical identity theft and what to do if you become a victim.

If you would like to know more about how to protect yourself against medical identity theft or you have become a victim of this growing crime, the Federal Trade Commission advises that you can file a complaint by accessing the FTC website at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov. You can also contact the FTC by telephone at 1-877-ID-THEFT or 1-866-653-4261.

For those that desire to learn more about medical identity theft you can log onto www.ftc.gov/idtheft and for more information on how to file a police report you access this information at www.ftc.gov/idtheft/consumers/defend.html.

We also recommend taking a look at Trusted ID, an identity protection service that won Javelin’s “Best in Class” award and also provides medical identity theft protection. For more information, read our detailed Trusted ID review.

ProtectMyID, a leading identity theft protection service provided by Experian, recently issued a warning to the users of Smartphones concerning the risk of identity theft on mobile devices. The warning was issued as a result of recent research conducted by ProtectMyID regarding data storage and unsecured wireless networks.

Research Results

Identity theft on Smartphones has become an increasing concern and currently represents a gold mine for online criminals. This is due to the use of wireless networks that are not secure and the storage of personal information that easily allows cybercriminals to pose as the Smartphone user, drain financial resources, and obtain credit in the name of the victim. The recent research showed:

• Data Storage on Smartphones: The report indicated that approximate 65 percent of the users surveyed send and store data on their phone that is related to online shopping activity such as receipts and credit card data.
• Social Networking: When you use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter your profile often contains personal information that cybercriminals can access for the purpose of committing identity theft. The survey showed that over one half of Smartphone users access social media over the phone.
• Wireless Access: The availability of wireless networks has increased in the last few years and most of the networks are unsecured which provides the perfect location for cybercriminals to spy on your mobile phone activity. The survey showed that close to 30 percent of Smartphone users access wireless networks on a frequent basis.
• Online Banking: Approximately 20 percent of Smartphone users indicated that they use public wireless networks to access their banking information using Personal Identification Number codes. The wireless networks they were using were unsecured.

Smartphone Identity Theft Awareness

According to research by ProtectMyID and the Home Office, it was determined that identity theft on Smartphones rose by nearly 75 percent during the first two quarters of 2010. What’s more the Smartphone users who participated in the ProtectMyID research were not aware of the risks of identity theft on mobile phones and the significant rise in this type of crime. Additionally, ProtectMyID United Kingdom recently consulted with the metropolitan police which reported that nearly ten thousand Smartphones were lost or stolen on a monthly basis during 2010.

Benefits of Using an Identity Theft Protection Service

If you use a service such as ProtectMyID you can head off a problem early on instead of waiting until you receive a bill for an unknown expense that you did not incur. Services like ProtectMyID will monitor your credit activity on an ongoing basis and then send an email or text that alerts you if there is any suspicious activity. You also have access to a case worker that you can work with one-on-one, fraud insurance that protects you in the event of a problem and protective registration if you are a mobile worker that is at high risk of identity theft.

Experian launched ProtectMyID to add to their repertoire of global information services. The company is located in the United Kingdom and provides credit reports in addition to analytical tools and identity theft protection services. When you obtain an account with ProtectMyID you will receive credit monitoring services for three different credit reports.

The Federal Trade Commission that handles identity theft reports recommends that you monitor your credit on a daily basis so Experian provides credit monitoring on a daily basis. ProtectMyID services also provide daily detection of personal information, Internet scanning for fraudulent use of personal information, address safeguard services, and medical defense services to protect you against unauthorized use of your medical insurance.

Read our ProtectMyID review for more information.