Identity Theft Protection: There's More to It than Life Lock
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There are several methods and options available to help you protect yourself from Identity Theft. What is available and what are the best parts of each of the well-known options; Life Lock, Trusted ID and Identity Guard. If you've been wondering about the benefits of identity theft preventions services, there's good news. You've got several good options to choose from to give you the peace of mind that proven identity theft services can help prevent you from becoming a victim of identity theft or restore your credit in case you do. Earlier this year Identity Theft Secrets brought you a review of the identity theft prevention service Life Lock. Life Lock has added new features that we thought you'd like to know about but we also thought you should know that two competitors, Trusted ID and Identity Guard Total Protection are also offering identity theft protection services worth checking out. What are identity theft preventive services? Protection services like Life lock, Trusted ID and Identity Guard Total Protection each use some of the same tools to protect their customers. *Setting fraud alerts on your credit file with all three credit bureaus means that lenders must call or write you for verification before issuing new credit in your name. This is an important tool in preventing identity theft because setting up new accounts in your name is one way thieves steal your identity and use your credit to rob you before you even know it. *Reduces the pre-approved credit offers and junk in your name. This stuff is annoying as well as environmentally wasteful but it also puts you at risk for having your identity stolen. Unless you shred it all, and that is assuming it wasn't stolen from your mail box before you even knew it was there, these pre-approved offers make it too easy for identity thieves to get a credit card in your name and simple fill in a change of address. Just because it is an old trick doesn't mean that new dogs aren't trying it. While Life Lock, Trusted ID and Identity Guard Total Protection all have some important common identity theft features; each has some unique features as well. Unique Features of Life Lock *Life Lock offers a 1 million guarantee against direct monetary losses from identity theft. *Life Lock offers WalletLock, at no additional cost. They'll secure the information that is in your wallet and if it is ever stolen, subscribers can make one call to have credit and bankcards cancelled and begin the process of replacing lost documents. Life Lock also offers two new features. eRecon monitor's the internets black markets for any use of your credit cards, driver's license numbers or social security numbers. TrueAddress will notify you if your address is being changed in any national database, which is one way, that identity thieves use your name and credit with out ever having a bill come to you. Of course, they don't ever pay the bills that come to new address. Unique Features of Trusted ID *Trusted ID has developed at automated tool, Doublecheck, that sets up fraud alerts virtually as you sign up which is a great benefit if you already know you've been put at risk for or become a victim of identity theft. *Trusted ID also monitors internet black markets to see if your information is being sold as well as public records to find out if there are changes or misuses of your personal information. *Trusted ID is the only service currently known to also give you medical record protection, if you authorize it. This is to ensure that you are not one of the many victims of the new medical identity theft in which scammers use your insurance information to collect on fraudulent claims or get medical services or products billed to your insurance. *Trusted ID has a unique pricing offer that is most attractive for large families. The family plan is about twice as much as the individual but you can everyone in your household so this makes a lot of sense if you have more than two family members. *Trusted ID, like Life Lock, offers up to $1,000,000 in costs to recover from identity theft. Unique features of Identity Guard Total Protection *Identity Guard Total Protection has a new feature that has both customers and reviewers excited. With Identity Guard Total Protection subscribers are offered a free download of the award winning Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite. This security solution includes anti-virus, firewall, anti-phishing, anti-spam and hourly updates. The Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite is normally $49.99 but is free to all Identity Guard subscribers. *Trusted ID also monitors black markets and public records and alerts you to sales or changes that could put you at risk. *Personal ID Risk Assessment is a unique tool to help you identity areas of potential risk for identity theft. *Trusted ID has recently added lost wallet protection that will cancel your credit cards and give up to $2,000.00 advance if you need it. *Trusted ID also offers a very useful credit analyzer that allows you to see how your credit will be affected by various scenarios such as paying off a credit card or opening a new loan. Most of us don't want to think about yet another "insurance plan" but remember that while a money back guarantee against direct monetary losses from identity theft is great, the worst costs of identity theft are: *not being able to credit Life Lock, Trusted ID and Identity Guard have all been proven to be easy to sign up for with dependable customer service. While each covers some common important ground in preventing identity theft, each prevention service has some unique features that make it easier for you to decide which service might be best for you.
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