Posted on 03/12/2014 5:49:44 PM PDT by Ben Mugged
Is identity theft a real enough problem to warrant $10/month monitoring service? I must decide whether or not to get the service but to initiate it I must trust the service with a lot of personal data.
I use lifelock. It has been worth it to me.
They stopped one attempt at opening an account in my identity. I also know how many years of suffering and how much aggravation it takes to restore credit. To me that value is worth the cost.
I recently signed up for lifelock premium. They found my name and password for a shopping website being sold on a blackmarket website.
You could sign up for a few months to see if something is already up...
Consumer Reports says it is not. Claims that it doesn’t do much for you that you could not easily do yourself, and that the million dollar guarantee, or whatever it is, does not mean they cover your losses.
Best to read the fine print.
For $10.00 for each of the big three rating firms, you can put a lock on any transactions...that will protect your accounts. If you don’t intend to borrow you will love the service.
I think it depends, but make sure the company is reliable.
Just a quick search found this comparative assessment FWIW:
Identity Theft Protection Services Compared
http://www.identitytheftlabs.com/?gclid=CPnH0pemjr0CFRBffgodYJ4ApA
bookmark
If you’ve ever had this problem, you know you don’t need to ask.
I did that. It's free in NC. The state has links on its webpage to do it.
I figure that's enough, plus extreme caution in using cards.
“Is identity theft a real enough problem to warrant $10/month monitoring service?”
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Nah, not for me. My identity is not worth anything to anybody.
Anyway, that service sounds more like a scam to me. Just what are they doing for you, and why do you need it?
I use BA’s Privacy Assist.
I recommend it.
These are dangerous times.
Roger that. All 3 majors allow you to “freeze” your credit and only you can “un-freeze” it when you try to use your credit for anything. If you only use it(your credit) on rare occasions, that may be an option. If someone tries to use your info they should be denied. Hope you never get stolen.
You are much better off by Never using Credit or Debit cards, No Electronic Transactions at all. Pull the CASH out of your pocket and live within your means with NO DEBT at all. Pay All your regular bills with a check in the mail. Then there are no worries. Stop feeding the Banks.
“Nah, not for me. My identity is not worth anything to anybody.
Anyway, that service sounds more like a scam to me. Just what are they doing for you, and why do you need it?”
It’s like ANY insurance — you wish you would never need it, but if you need it, it makes a huge difference between having or not having it — whether it’s home insurance, car insurance, health insurance or identity theft protection insurance. The point of the identity theft insurance is that they stop it before it ruins you and it can, if it goes undetected.
No buying from Amazon or eBay?
Don’t think so.
That has saved me way too much money.
We've never suffered a loss from it, but my identity was stolen twice -- about two weeks apart.
My wife pays very close attention to bank statements and credit card statements and, fortunately, she caught both attempts.
What we had to do to avoid any loss, though, was a real PITA. You don't want to go through that, much less actually suffer a loss of money and/or credit.
We now subscribe to Lifelock and have had no issues since.
Lifelock.
Yes.
Be sure you know what their policy on what expenses it actually covers.
If it gives you peace of mind, do it.
Restoring your credit rating, after an identity theft, takes years to clear up. It could consume you and all your time.
Where was Lifelock when bo established his identity?
If you read the fine print on the Life-Lock contract, and there is a lot of it, you will discover that they do absolutely nothing until YOU do everything required by law for you to do. In other words, you might as well not have their service.
In fact, that have been sued for sending out fraud alerts when there has been no evidence of fraud. At least one credit rating sue Life-Lock for the costs associated with the false fraud alerts and won a huge judgment/settlement.
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