3 Online Protection Services for ID Theft

Protecting your identity is so important that the U.S. government has devoted an entire web site to educating consumers about identity theft and how to protect themselves from identity thieves. There are ways to protect yourself from identity theft, but with so many vulnerabilities, no consumer should be trying to defend themselves from identity theft alone. Luckily, you don’t have to do it all by yourself. There are identity protection services online that can help you monitor your credit reports and keep an eye out for cues that your identity has been compromised.

TrustedID is an online service for identity protection that is designed for individuals and families. The service is inexpensive, but comprehensive. TrustedID will set fraud alerts on your credit reports and scan the internet for any unauthorized use of your personal information. In addition, TrustedID will monitor your medical insurance to be certain that only your family is receiving benefits under your policy. For less than $15 a month, TrustedID will provide full identity protection for your entire family. TrustedID identity protection service comes with a $1,000,000 warranty against damages caused by identity theft.

Identity Guard Total Protection Service provides a full suite of protection services against identity theft. The services provided include credit report monitoring, fraud monitoring and Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite. Identity Guard monitors for fraud of all kinds, scanning Social Security records, credit card, loan and cell phone applications and public records for any unauthorized use of your personal information. The service also offers lost wallet insurance, and will cancel your credit cards and provide up to $2,000 advance if needed when your wallet is stolen. The addition of Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite adds protection from phishing sites, firewall protection and anti-spam and anti-spyware protection, all important parts of protecting your identity from online theft.

Identity Truth combines credit monitoring with fraud monitoring to help protect your identity from theft. What makes Identity Truth unique is their diagnosis of your “identity health”, a measure of your risk of being targeted by identity thieves. For less than $100 a year, Identity Truth provides you with an annual credit report from Experian and online access to all of the information and sources that they are monitoring on your behalf. In addition, Identity Truth tracks security breaches across the country so that you can easily find if you’ve been put at risk by a data theft from a merchant or bank you’ve patronized.

There are many other online identity protection services, including free tools for your browser that will alert you when you attempt to access a web page that can compromise your security, and email tools to scan for viruses and spyware in your email.